In his first speech as Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Naim Qassem stressed Iran's steadfast and unconditional support for the armed Lebanese group, underscoring their persistent unity despite heavy blows they have both taken from Israel in recent weeks.
"Iran supports our project and doesn't ask anything of us," Qassem said on Wednesday. "We don't fight on behalf of anyone or for anyone's project; we fight for Lebanon," he added.
The new Hezbollah leader also pledged that the group would continue its path of war with Israel, following the agenda set by his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital in September.
"We will continue our war plan within the outlined political frameworks; we will remain on the path of war," he said.
Qassem, who had served as Hezbollah’s deputy leader since 1991, was elected by the group’s Shura Council. At 71, he is regarded as a foundational figure within Hezbollah.
Iranian leaders publicly extended their congratulations to Qassem on his appointment. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian commended his “defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and ideals of the resistance front,” while Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf praised Qassem’s enduring commitment to Hezbollah’s mission in Lebanon and across the region.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant alluded to Qassem’s potential vulnerability, posting on X shortly after the appointment, “Temporary appointment. Not for long.” He added in Hebrew, “The countdown has begun.”
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps founded Hezbollah in 1982 and has provided substantial arms and financial backing over the decades.
Although the scale of Iranian support has varied over the years, US officials estimated in 2018 that Iran channels approximately $700 million annually to Hezbollah.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that on October 5 Qassem was flown from Beirut to Tehran aboard an aircraft belonging to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. While Iranian officials have yet to confirm these reports, Qassem’s potential relocation to Iran would imply that Hezbollah's leadership in Lebanon is now managed remotely.
Speaking to Tasnim News Agency, Amir Aziz Nasirzadeh said: "The enemy attempted to damage both our defensive and offensive systems. However, due to precautions, there was minimal impact, and as you saw, there were no casualties or injuries in our defense industries.”
His comments come after the hours-long assault spread over three waves which targeted air defense systems, key Iranian industrial production facilities of missiles and drones, and missile launch bases.
Spread across Tehran, Kermanshah, Qom, Ahvaz, Shiraz, and the farther Semnan province, the operation involved around 100 aircraft.
However, playing down the impact, Nasirzadeh said: “Furthermore, since this technology is domestically produced, we were able to replace one of the air defense systems the very next day, so there has been no disruption in our offensive production capabilities, such as missiles." However, Israeli and other reports say Iran's Russian-made S-300 system was targeted, which is the main long-range interceptor missiles defending the country.
The Defense Minister also went on to dismiss claims that Israeli fighter jets had entered Iranian airspace. "According to the United Nations Charter, any country has the right to respond if its airspace is violated,” he said, suggesting that denials may avoid a necessary deepening of the conflict between the decades-long enemies.
He also denied damage to an IRGC missile facility in Shahroud while satellite imagery from Planet Labs showing a significant impact at the site that builds ballistic missiles and launches rockets as part of its own space program.
So far, Iran only has identified Israeli attacks as taking place in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces — not in rural Semnan province where the base is located.
A strike on Shahroud potentially further restrains the IRGC’s ability to manufacture the solid-fuel ballistic missiles it needs to stockpile as a deterrent against Israel. Tehran long has relied on that arsenal as it cannot purchase the advanced Western weapons that Israel and Iran's Persian Gulf Arab neighbors have armed themselves with over the years, particularly from the United States.
The site also hosts the Imam Khomeini Space Center, which is used by Iran’s space program. The images show a central, major building at the Shahroud Space Center have been destroyed, the shadow of its still-standing frame seen in the image taken Tuesday morning.
The imagery, seen by the Associated Press, showed vehicles gathered around the site, believed to be officials inspecting the damage, with more cars than normal parked at the site’s main gate nearby.
Three small buildings just to the south of the main structure also appeared to be damage, AP said. Iran has been constructing new buildings at the base in recent months. Another hangar to the northeast of the main building also appeared to have been damaged.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, blamed the US for helping facilitate the logistics of the attack.
”Our intelligence indicates that Israeli fighter jets carried out this attack through a corridor facilitated by US forces," he said. "We have lodged our complaint with the United Nations and other international bodies and will continue to pursue this matter.”
Coordinating Deputy of Iran's Army Admiral Habibollah Sayyari also denied the penetration of Iran’s air space, reported first by Iran International.
“Thanks to the readiness and alertness of our air defenses and Air Force in a coordinated operation, the enemy was prevented from breaching our borders,” he said.
“They were forced to launch ballistic missiles from 100 kilometers outside our borders, many of which were intercepted by our defenses, though some did strike certain areas.”
One day after Iran International reported Israeli F-35s had entered Iran's airspace for the first time and bombed targets near Tehran, CNN reported that Israeli fighter jets entered Iranian airspace during the Saturday attack.
In a statement on Tuesday, the EU condemned in the strongest terms the execution of the German-Iranian national and expressed its full solidarity with Germany. Similar remarks were made by European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell on his X account on Tuesday.
“The European Union reiterates its call on Iran to end the distressing practice of detaining foreign civilians and dual nationals with a view to making political gains,” read the statement by the EU.
Iran executed the 68-year-old dissident who was a software developer and California resident on Monday. He was abducted by Iranian agents during a visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2020 and forcibly taken to Iran. In February 2023, the Iranian judiciary sentenced him to death on charges of endangering national security.
On Tuesday, Germany recalled its ambassador to Iran and summoned the Iranian chargé d'affaires. Several German officials, including German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, spoke out against the killing, a move that prompted Iran to react and defend the execution.
The ambassador left Iran on Wednesday morning, said a German foreign ministry spokesperson.
The spokesperson added that the execution of Sharmahd has put "extreme" strain on the relationship between Berlin and Tehran.
The Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry summoned German Ambassador Markus Potzel over what the ministry called Berlin’s meddling in Iran’s internal affairs.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to the announcement on X, saying, “How about 'an EU measure' to end the killing of more than 50k Palestinians in Gaza? How about 'an EU measure' to allow 1.5 million refugees in Lebanon to return to their homes? How about 'an EU measure' to support the families of those killed by Jamshid Sharmahd?”
“If not, Europe only stands for hypocrisy,” the foreign minister added.
Sharmahd was convicted of heading a pro-monarchist group named Tondar accused of a deadly bombing incident that occurred in 2008 at a religious center in Shiraz, killing 14 and injuring 215 more. The accusation, repeatedly denied by Sharmahd, was never substantiated by documented evidence. He was denied a fair trial and due process, as most other political prisoners, especially dual nationals.
“Iranian restrictions on consular access to our citizens, the denial of consular protection and fair trial are not acceptable and stand in direct violation of international law,” the EU noted in its statement.
The EU also slammed the high number of executions in Iran. "The European Union reaffirms its strong and unequivocal opposition to the use of death penalty at all times, in all places and in all circumstances, especially taking into account the alarming increase in executions recorded in Iran last year and this year."
Iran conducted the most executions of any country in the world after China last year, Amnesty said in a report in May, adding that nearly 75% of all executions worldwide in 2023 outside China were in Iran. The recent wave of executions brings the total number of hangings in Iran this year to more than 567, including 20 women, according to rights groups.
