Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah official and leader of its executive council, has emerged as a leading candidate to replace Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah following his death in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on September 28.

Hezbollah belatedly confirmed the news of Nasrallah's assassination on September 28 via its channel Al-Manar. The channel, which covers the group, reported that the former leader had “embraced martyrdom” in the late-night strike by Israel, which killed an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) general and other top Hezbollah officials. The Israeli strike has been in retaliation for Hezbollah's repeated firing of missiles across the border into northern Israel, causing mass evacuations of the region. 

Born in 1964 in Deir Qanoun Al Nahr, southern Lebanon, Safieddine has been a key figure in Hezbollah for nearly three decades.

Safieddine resembles his cousin in form and substance, even in his pronunciation of the letter "R". He has been prepared for succession since 1994 and came from Iran's epicentre of Shi'ite scholarship Qom to Beirut to head the Executive Council, which is considered the party's government.

He has effectively served as the organisation's chief executive officer. He was one of the right-hand men of Nasrallah, and he led the organisation for more than 30 years following the Lebanese civil war.

Safieddine has excellent relations with Tehran and is on a direct telephone line with the office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, and likely had communications with previous Iranian presidencies.

Sources close to the organisation say he was groomed for leadership in the event of Nasrallah's death under the guidance of former Hezbollah security chief Imad Mughniyeh, who was also killed recently.

"Safieddine has been Nasrallah's shadow, managing all sensitive daily files from the party's institutions to its finances and investments," a former Hezbollah official told local media, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Safieddine's ties to Iran were further cemented in 2020 when his son married the daughter of the late Qassem Soleimani, former commander of Iran's Quds Force who was killed in Baghdad in an US airstrike commissioned by former President Donald Trump.

Designated as a global terrorist by the United States in 2017, Safieddine has increasingly appeared at Hezbollah events in recent years, often replacing Nasrallah due to security concerns.

Despite his prominence, Hezbollah's opaque leadership selection process means Safieddine's succession is not guaranteed with potential leader being next on Israel’s strike list.