Hezbollah Informs Lebanon It Won't Aid Iran If War Resumes

Hezbollah has informed Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri that the organization will not intervene to assist Iran should hostilities resume, according to a report by the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. Berri subsequently conveyed this information to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

Lebanese parliamentary sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, clarified Iran's position, stating that Tehran would not request assistance from Hezbollah given the power imbalance between the organization and Israel. These sources indicated that Khatibzadeh explained Iran is aware of the sensitive situation in Lebanon and does not intend to ask Hezbollah to engage in an unbalanced conflict, especially in light of a U.S. warning conveyed to President Aoun by the U.S. Secretary of State. Aoun, in turn, relayed this warning to Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

The sources estimated that Hezbollah cannot ignore the critical reaction from its popular support base, leading it to observe and assess its next steps, relying on Berri. Hezbollah also faces the challenge of a potential mass displacement of one million Shiites if Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz follows through on his threat to expand the security zone in southern Lebanon to include the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as the Dahieh.

Furthermore, the general sentiment among the Shiite public would not permit silence if Hezbollah decides to intervene again to aid Iran, as it did last March against its commitment to Berri not to do so. This comes amid reports that Iran had previously sent a message to Hezbollah indicating that a U.S. attack was imminent and that Hezbollah should prepare accordingly.