Hezbollah’s Qassem: Assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader would destabilize region
Shafaq News- Beirut
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem warned that the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would be an attack on regional and global stability.
Speaking at a solidarity gathering with Iran, Qassem stated that threats against Khamenei, including those made by US President Donald Trump, target millions of followers and must be confronted with all necessary measures, emphasizing that Hezbollah considers such threats as “direct challenges” to itself and “reserves the right to respond as it deems appropriate,” and warning that a war on Iran could ignite wider conflict across the region.
Addressing the possibility of Hezbollah’s involvement should Iran face military aggression from the United States or Israel, Qassem said the group is determined to defend itself. “Hezbollah would decide on intervention or non-intervention based on circumstances, but insisted the group would not remain neutral.”
Qassem expressed hope for preventing such an outcome but stressed that readiness for defense keeps multiple possibilities open.
Earlier, Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah called on its fighters to prepare for what it described as a “comprehensive war” in support of Tehran against “Zionists [Israelis] of the earth.”
In a statement, Secretary-General Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi accused Israel of seeking to weaken or destroy Iran and dismantle “the region’s moral and ethical foundations,” urging factions within the Axis of Resistance —which includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, Yemen’s Houthis (Ansarallah), and allied groups— to provide full support to Tehran.
Iran has cautioned that any US strike, limited or extensive, would be treated as an “all-out war” and met with a full response. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour declared that Tehran has its “finger on the trigger.”
Read more: Escalation without Collapse: Washington’s options against Tehran
