Hezbollah Politicians

Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council,
and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. Its armed strength was assessed to be equivalent to that of a medium-sized army in 2016.

Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Lebanese clerics in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Inspired by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's model of Islamic governance, Hezbollah established strong ties with Iran. The group was initially supported by 1,500 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructors, who helped unify various Lebanese Shia factions under Hezbollah's leadership. Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto outlined its key objectives, which include expelling Western influence from the region, destroying Israel, pledging allegiance to Iran's supreme leader, and establishing an Islamic government influenced by Iran's political ideology. However, the manifesto also emphasized Lebanese self-determination. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Hezbollah fought against Israeli forces and the South Lebanon Army (SLA), eventually leading to Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah also played a prominent role in the 2006 Lebanon War and later became involved in the Syrian civil war, where it fought alongside the Syrian government against rebel forces.

In 2009, Hezbollah updated their manifesto to oppose political sectarianism, appeal to non-Islamic movements, and promote a national unity government. The updated manifesto has the same basic approach to foreign policy, emphasizing the hegemonic strategies of the US and Israel's role in the region as a forward base for colonizing the region.

Since the 1990s, Hezbollah has grown into a significant political force in Lebanon. The group operates a vast social services network, including schools and hospitals, and runs a satellite TV station, Al-Manar. Politically, Hezbollah's Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc holds 15 seats in the Lebanese Parliament, making it a powerful player in Lebanon's government. However, the group's influence has led to growing domestic criticism. Following the 2020 Beirut port explosion, Hezbollah was accused of obstructing efforts to hold those responsible accountable, contributing to a decline in public trust. A 2024 Arab Barometer survey found that 55% of Lebanese have "no trust at all" in Hezbollah, although it remains popular among the Shia population.

Despite calls for disarmament under United Nations Security Council resolutions, Hezbollah has expanded its military capabilities. Its armed wing is now considered stronger than the Lebanese Armed Forces, making it one of the most powerful non-state actors in the world. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared in 2021 that the group had 100,000 fighters. Hezbollah has been involved in several high-profile attacks; it is believed to be responsible for the bombing of the US embassy and the American and French barracks bombings in Beirut in 1983, the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005, as well as later attacks, including bombings and hijackings. While Hezbollah has been regarded as a resistance movement by some scholars, the entire organization, or its military wing alone, has been designated as a terrorist group by at least 26 countries, as of October 2020, including most Western countries.

Since October 2023, Hezbollah has been at war with Israel. During this war, Nasrallah was assassinated after 32 years of leading the group, along with other key members of Hezbollah leadership. The conflict has led to an Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and is currently in a ceasefire.

History

In 1982, Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran primarily to fight the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The 1982 and the 1978 Israeli invasions had created a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon; many villages in the south had been destroyed and large numbers of Shias had been displaced from their homes. In addition, the Shia had long been underrepresented in Lebanese politics. Both these factors fostered resentment among the local Shia population, making them a fertile ground for recruitment. Hezbollah was set up by local Shia committees, under the leadership of Ruhollah Khomeini. Its forces were trained and organized by a contingent of 1,500 Iranian Revolutionary Guards that arrived from Iran with permission from the Syrian government, which occupied Lebanon's eastern highlands, permitted their transit to a base in the Bekaa valley which was in occupation of Lebanon at the time.

Scholars differ as to when Hezbollah came to be a distinct entity. Various sources list the official formation of the group as early as 1982 whereas Diaz and Newman maintain that Hezbollah remained an amalgamation of various violent Shi'a extremists until as late as 1985. Another version states that it was formed by supporters of Sheikh Ragheb Harb, a leader of the southern Shia resistance killed by Israel in 1984. Regardless of when the name came into official use, a number of Shi'a groups were slowly assimilated into the organization, such as Islamic Jihad, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and the Revolutionary Justice Organization. These designations are considered to be synonymous with Hezbollah by the US, Israel and Canada.

According to Robert Fisk and Israeli General Shimon Shapira the date of 8 June 1982, two days after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, when 50 Shiite militants ambushed an Israel Defense Forces armored convoy in Khalde south of Beirut, is considered by Hezbollah as the founding myth of their military wing. It was in this battle, delaying the Israeli advance to Beirut for six days, that the future Hezbollah military chief Mustafa Badreddine made his name as a serious commander. According to Shapira, the lightly armed Shia fighters managed to capture an Israeli armored vehicle on that day and paraded it in the Revolutionary Guards' forward operating base in Baalbek, Eastern Lebanon. Fisk writes:

Down at Khalde, a remarkable phenomenon had taken shape. The Shia militiamen were running on foot into the Israeli gunfire to launch grenades at the Israeli armour, actually moving to within 20 feet of the tanks to open fire at them. Some of the Shia fighters had torn off pieces of their shirts and wrapped them around their heads as bands of martyrdom as the Iranian revolutionary guards had begun doing a year before when they staged their first mass attacks against the Iraqis in the Gulf War a thousand miles to the east. When they set fire to one Israeli armoured vehicle, the gunmen were emboldened to advance further. None of us, I think, realised the critical importance of the events of Khalde that night. The Lebanese Shia were learning the principles of martyrdom and putting them into practice. Never before had we seen these men wear headbands like this; we thought it was another militia affectation but it was not. It was the beginning of a legend which also contained a strong element of truth. The Shia were now the Lebanese resistance, nationalist no doubt but also inspired by their religion. The party of God – in Arabic, the Hezbollah – were on the beaches of Khalde that night.

1980s

Hezbollah emerged in South Lebanon during a consolidation of Shia militias as a rival to the older Amal Movement. Hezbollah played a significant role in the Lebanese civil war, opposing American forces in 1982–83 and opposing Amal and Syria during the 1985–88 War of the Camps. However, Hezbollah's early primary focus was ending Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon following Israel's 1982 invasion and siege of Beirut. Amal, the main Lebanese Shia political group, initiated guerrilla warfare. In 2006, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak stated, "When we entered Lebanon ... there was no Hezbollah. We were accepted with perfumed rice and flowers by the Shia in the south. It was our presence there that created Hezbollah."

Hezbollah waged an asymmetric war using suicide attacks against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli targets outside of Lebanon. Specifically: "Suicide Terrorist Campaigns, 1980–2003", Appendix 1. (p. 253 of Australian paperback edition, published by Scribe Publications) Hezbollah is reputed to have been among the first Islamic resistance groups in the Middle East to use the tactics of suicide bombing, assassination, and capturing foreign soldiers, as well as murders and hijackings. Hezbollah also employed more conventional military tactics and weaponry, notably Katyusha rockets and other missiles. At the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, despite the Taif Agreement asking for the "disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias", Syria, which controlled Lebanon at that time, allowed Hezbollah to maintain their arsenal and control Shia areas along the border with Israel.

After 1990

In the 1990s, Hezbollah transformed from a revolutionary group into a political one, in a process which has been described as the "Lebanonization" of Hezbollah. Unlike its uncompromising revolutionary stance in the 1980s, Hezbollah conveyed a lenient stance towards the Lebanese state.Ranstorp (1998)

In 1992, Hezbollah decided to participate in elections, and Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran, endorsed it. Former Hezbollah secretary general, Subhi al-Tufayli, contested this decision, which led to a schism in Hezbollah. Hezbollah won all twelve seats which were on its electoral list. At the end of that year, Hezbollah began to engage in dialog with Lebanese Christians. Hezbollah regards cultural, political, and religious freedoms in Lebanon as sanctified, although it does not extend these values to groups who have relations with Israel.

In 1997, Hezbollah formed the multi-confessional Lebanese Brigades to Fight the Israeli Occupation in an attempt to revive national and secular resistance against Israel, thereby marking the "Lebanonization" of resistance.

Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO)

Whether the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) was a ''nom de guerre'' used by Hezbollah or a separate organization, is disputed. According to certain sources, IJO was identified as merely a "telephone organization", and whose name was "used by those involved to disguise their true identity". Hezbollah reportedly also used another name, "Islamic Resistance" (''al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya''), for attacks against Israel.Ranstorp (1997)

A 2003 American court decision found IJO was the name used by Hezbollah for its attacks in Lebanon, parts of the Middle East and Europe. The US, Israel and Canada consider the names "Islamic Jihad Organization", "Organization of the Oppressed on Earth" and the "Revolutionary Justice Organization" to be synonymous with Hezbollah.

Axis of Resistance

The group receives substantial financial and military backing from Iran, by smuggling and other measures, positioning itself as the leading member of the "Axis of Resistance", an alliance in opposition to Israel and Western influence in the Middle East. Following the outcome of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon (2024–present), the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, the downfall of the Assad regime and the weakening of the Axis of Resistance, Hezbollah has withdrawn the majority of its military infrastructure from southern Lebanon, transferring control to the Lebanese army. This move aligns with the November 2024 U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement, which mandates Hezbollah's repositioning north of the Litani River and the deployment of approximately 5,000 Lebanese troops to the south. The withdrawal aims to reduce tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border and facilitate the return of displaced civilians. While Hezbollah has removed heavy weaponry, some fighters from southern villages remain with light arms. The situation remains delicate, with ongoing monitoring by international observers to ensure compliance with the ceasefire terms.

Disarmament

On April 16, 2025, president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, announced that that he wants all weapons in Lebanon to be controlled by the state by the end of 2025. He also said that he will not forcibly disarm Hezbollah and instead convince it to disarm on its own. He added that he may integrate militants of Hezbollah into Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Leader of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, responded to president's announcement in a televised speech, stating: “We will not allow anyone to disarm”, adding: “Our weapons are the backbone of the resistance, they are the ones that liberated our country”. He also stated that he would be willing to discuss Hezbollah's disarmament only after a full withdrawal of IDF from Lebanese territory. On April 21, in a meeting with the president of Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, Joseph Aoun guaranteed to disarm all armed Palestinian groups within Hezbollah's territory in Lebanon by signing a formal agreement with the Palestinian government.

On April 30, the Lebanese Armed Forces announced they had dismantled more than 90 percent of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in Southern Lebanon. On May 28, 2025, Lebanese Armed Forces have announced that they have entered Hezbollah's strongholds near Litani River and peacefully disarmed them with the help of Israeli intelligence. The army also executed a multi-stage plan to disarm other armed groups in Lebanon, primarily active in dense refugee camps. On May 29, Lebanese Government announced that the army had achieved approximately 80 percent of its objectives in disarming other militias in the south and in locating and destroying Hezbollah’s weapon stockpiles and military posts. Reportedly, Hezbollah has lost control to multiple important sites, like Hariri International Airport. Naim Qassem reacted to the events, stating that Hezbollah suffered significant losses of its arsenal and leaders which are "both vital to its ability to adapt and survive".

Ideology

The ideology of Hezbollah has been summarized as Shia Islamist radicalism; Hezbollah follows the Islamic Shia theology developed by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Hezbollah was largely formed with the aid of the Khomeini's followers in the early 1980s in order to spread Islamic revolution and follows a distinct version of Islamic Shia ideology ( ''Wilayat al-faqih'' or Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists) developed by Khomeini, who was the leader of the "Islamic Revolution" in Iran. Although Hezbollah originally aimed to transform Lebanon into an Islamic republic, this goal has been abandoned in favor of a more inclusive approach.

Early on, Hezbollah was influenced by ideas from prominent Sunni Islamists. Hezbollah's own rhetoric was Islamist in general, rather than Shia in particular. Hezbollah's position on the Sunni-Shia divide was that instead of dwelling on theological differences, Sunnis and Shias ought to cooperate with one another to oppose the Israeli occupation of Arab lands. To maintain a sense of Muslim unity, Hezbollah avoided direct criticism of Saudi Arabia; even during the 2007 Lebanon's conflict with the Salafis, Al-Manar TV's employees had instructions "not to talk badly about Saudi Arabia". This changed, however, after the beginning of the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war.

Hezbollah has been described as socially conservative. It is against homosexuality and LGBT rights. In 2023, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called for gay people to be killed and said that the LGBT community was a "threat to society". The organization also encourages women to wear traditional Islamic veils, especially the full-body chador.

Some scholars consider Hezbollah to have become a left-wing political movement; including political scientists Anisseh van Engeland and Rachael Rudolph, Imad Salamey, Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, and As'ad Abu Khalil. Salamey described Hezbollah as "a revolutionary proletarian party with an Islamic manifesto". Feminist Judith Butler controversially called Hezbollah part of the "global left" because they define themselves as anti-imperialist.
Communist writer Nahla Chahal wrote that Hezhollah "is a movement of the Theology of Liberation".

1985 manifesto

On 16 February 1985, Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin issued Hezbollah's manifesto. The ideology presented in it was described as radical. Its first objective was to fight against what Hezbollah described as American and Israeli imperialism, including the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon and other territories. The second objective was to gather all Muslims into an "ummah", under which Lebanon would further the aims of the 1979 Revolution of Iran. It also declared it would protect all Lebanese communities, excluding those that collaborated with Israel, and support all national movements—both Muslim and non-Muslim—throughout the world.

Translated excerpts from Hezbollah's original 1985 manifesto read:

2009 manifesto

On 30 November 2009, secretary-general Nasrallah presented a new manifesto at Hezbollah's 7th political conference. Besides its introduction, this 32-page document has three chapters on U.S. hegemonic strategies and the impact of globalization; Hezbollah's approach to Lebanon; and Palestinian resistance to Israel.Berti, Benedetta. "The "Rebirth" of Hizbollah: Analyzing the 2009 Manifesto." ''Strategic Assessment'' 12, no. 12 (2010): 91-100. While self-described as a "rebirth" document, the manifesto conveys the same basic approach to foreign policy as in the past, according to scholar Benedetta Berti, though it is more "politically savvy" and appeals to non-Islamic movements. Still, the manifesto offers new support for Lebanese political institutions, through which it had been making inroads. Notably, it says that it opposes political "sectarianism", idealizes a national unity government, and treats the Lebanese army less as an enemy and more as a subordinate military arm.

Attitudes, statements, and actions concerning Israel and Zionism

From the inception of Hezbollah to the present,United Nations Document A/54/723 S/2000/55, citing Al Hayyat, 30 October 1999 . Retrieved 17 August 2006. the elimination of the State of Israel has been one of Hezbollah's primary goals. Some translations of Hezbollah's 1985 Arabic-language manifesto state that "our struggle will end only when this entity sraelis obliterated". According to Hezbollah's Deputy-General, Naim Qassem, the struggle against Israel is a core belief of Hezbollah and the central rationale of Hezbollah's existence.

Hezbollah says that its continued hostilities against Israel are justified as reciprocal to Israeli operations against Lebanon and as retaliation for what they claim is Israel's occupation of Lebanese territory. Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and their withdrawal was verified by the United Nations as being in accordance with resolution 425 of 19 March 1978; however, Lebanon considers the Shebaa farms—a piece of land captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war and considered by the UN to be Syrian territory occupied by Israel—to be Lebanese territory. Finally, Hezbollah considers Israel to be an illegitimate state. For these reasons, it justifies its actions as acts of defensive jihad.Thisreen (Syrian newspaper) 21 June 1999, reprinted by MEMR
Secretary General of Hizbullah Discusses the New Israeli Government and Hizbullah's Struggle Against Israel
. Retrieved 30 July 2006.

Attitudes and actions concerning Jews and Judaism

Hezbollah officials have said, on rare occasions, that it is only "anti-Zionist" and not anti-Semitic. However, according to scholars, "these words do not hold up upon closer examination". Among other actions, Hezbollah actively engages in Holocaust denial and spreads anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

Various antisemitic statements have been attributed to Hezbollah officials. Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, a Lebanese political analyst, argues that although Zionism has influenced Hezbollah's anti-Judaism, "it is not contingent upon it because Hezbollah's hatred of Jews is more religiously motivated than politically motivated". Saad-Ghorayeb, Amal. ''Hizbu'llah: Politics and Religion''. London: Pluto Press, 2002. pp. 168–186. Robert S. Wistrich, a historian specializing in the study of anti-Semitism, described Hezbollah's ideology concerning Jews:

The anti-Semitism of Hezbollah leaders and spokesmen combines the image of seemingly invincible Jewish power ... and cunning with the contempt normally reserved for weak and cowardly enemies. Like the Hamas propaganda for holy war, that of Hezbollah has relied on the endless vilification of Jews as 'enemies of mankind,' 'conspiratorial, obstinate, and conceited' adversaries full of 'satanic plans' to enslave the Arabs. It fuses traditional Islamic anti-Judaism with Western conspiracy myths, Third Worldist anti-Zionism, and Iranian Shiite contempt for Jews as 'ritually impure' and corrupt infidels. Sheikh Fadlallah typically insists ... that Jews wish to undermine or obliterate Islam and Arab cultural identity in order to advance their economic and political domination.

Conflicting reports say Al-Manar, the Hezbollah-owned and operated television station, accused either Israel or Jews of deliberately spreading HIV and other diseases to Arabs throughout the Middle East.Block, Melissa
New Yorker' Writer Warns of Hezbollah's Radicalism"
NPR. 16 August 2006. 16 February 2008. Al-Manar was criticized in the West for airing "anti-Semitic propaganda" in the form of a television drama depicting a Jewish world domination conspiracy theory. The group has been accused by American analysts of engaging in Holocaust denial. In addition, during its 2006 war, it apologized only for killing Israel's Arabs (i.e., non-Jews).

In November 2009, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Hezbollah pressured a private English-language school in western Beirut "which asked not to be identified", to eliminate from its curriculum excerpts from '' The Diary of Anne Frank'', a book of the writings from the diary kept by the Jewish child Anne Frank while she was in hiding with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. This was after Hezbollah's member of Lebanese parliament Hussein Hajj Hassan, interviewed on the organization's Al-Manar television channel, criticized the school for "showing poor judgment in picking out its textbooks", and asked how long Lebanon would "remain an open arena for the Zionist invasion of education".

In ''The New Yorkers July 22, 2024 issue, Dexter Filkins, in his report on the border fight between Israel and the organization, quoted a commander of Hezbollah, who had been active in its operations outside Lebanon, stating that the war between the "Zionist state" and the "party of God" would be "very simply" resolved, "when he Jewsleave on the same boat they came on".

Organization

At the beginning, many Hezbollah leaders maintained that the movement was "not an organization, for its members carry no cards and bear no specific responsibilities", and that the movement does not have "a clearly defined organizational structure". Today, as Hezbollah scholar Magnus Ranstorp reports, Hezbollah does actually have a formal governing structure and, in keeping with the principle of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (''velayat-e faqih''), it "concentrate nbsp;... all authority and powers" on its religious leaders, whose decisions, then, "flow from the ''ulama'' down the entire community".

The supreme decision-making bodies of the Hezbollah were divided between the Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Assembly) which was headed by 12 senior clerical members with responsibility for tactical decisions and supervision of overall Hizballah activity throughout Lebanon, and the Majlis al-Shura al-Karar (the Deciding Assembly), headed by Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah and composed of eleven other clerics with responsibility for all strategic matters. Within the Majlis al-Shura, there existed seven specialized committees dealing with ideological, financial, military and political, judicial, informational and social affairs. In turn, the Majlis al-Shura and these seven committees were replicated in each of Hizballah's three main operational areas (the Beqaa, Beirut, and the South).

Since the Supreme Leader of Iran is the ultimate clerical authority, Hezbollah's leaders have appealed to him "for guidance and directives in cases when Hezbollah's collective leadership astoo divided over issues and fail dto reach a consensus". After the death of Iran's first Supreme Leader, Khomeini, Hezbollah's governing bodies developed a more "independent role" and appealed to Iran less often. Since the Second Lebanon War, however, Iran has restructured Hezbollah to limit the power of Hassan Nasrallah, and invested billions of dollars "rehabilitating" Hezbollah.

Structurally, Hezbollah does not distinguish between its political/social activities within Lebanon and its military/''jihad'' activities against Israel. "Hezbollah has a single leadership", according to Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's second in command. "All political, social and jihad work is tied to the decisions of this leadership ... The same leadership that directs the parliamentary and government work also leads jihad actions in the struggle against Israel."

In 2010, Iran's parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said, "Iran takes pride in Lebanon's Islamic resistance movement for its steadfast Islamic stance. Hezbollah nurtures the original ideas of Islamic Jihad." He also instead charged the West with having accused Iran with support of terrorism and said, "The real terrorists are those who provide the Zionist regime with military equipment to bomb the people."

Funding

Funding of Hezbollah comes from the Iranian government, Lebanese business groups, private persons, businessmen, the Lebanese diaspora involved in African diamond exploration, other Islamic groups and countries, and the taxes paid by the Shia Lebanese. Hezbollah says that the main source of its income comes from its own investment portfolios and donations by Muslims.

Western sources maintain that Hezbollah receives most of its financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria. Iran is said to have given $400 million between 1983 and 1989 through donation. Ostensibly on account of economic problems, Iran temporarily limited funds to humanitarian actions carried on by Hezbollah. During the late 1980s, when there was three-digit inflation in Lebanon due to the collapse of the Lira, the British periodical Middle East International reported that Hezbollah was receiving $3–5 million per month from Iran. According to reports subsequently released, Hezbollah received $400 million from Iran.

In 2009, when the United States GAO agency accused members of the Venezuelan government of "not cooperating fully in the war on drug trafficking" and claimed that "drug corruption had reached the ministerial level in Venezuela", Dorit Shavit, then in charge of Latin America & Caribbean affairs at the Israeli foreign ministry, stated in '' El Tiempo'' that the presence of "cells of Hezbollah guerrillas" had increased in recent years in the Guajira Peninsula and on the island of Margarita. The foreign ministry of Venezuela rejected these allegations as "absurd".

In 2011, Iran earmarked $7 million to Hezbollah's activities in Latin America. Hezbollah has relied also on funding from the Shi'ite Lebanese Diaspora in West Africa, the United States and, most importantly, the Triple Frontier, or tri-border area, along the junction of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. U.S. law enforcement officials have identified an illegal multimillion-dollar cigarette-smuggling fund raising operation and a drug smuggling operation. Nasrallah has repeatedly denied any links between the South American drug trade and Hezbollah, calling such accusations "propaganda" and attempts "to damage the image of Hezbollah".

As of 2018, annual Iranian monetary support for Hezbollah was estimated at $700 million by US officials.

Social services

Hezbollah organizes and maintains an extensive social development program and runs hospitals, news services, educational facilities, and encouragement of Nikah mut'ah