Iran’s call to start regional war if Hassan Nasrallah is dead
Image credit X.com @Khamenei.jr
Iran’s Khamenei weighs option after Israel targets Hezbollah leadership
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, September 28: Israel is making the world believe that its nemesis, the Hezbollah secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah is dead. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held a marathon meeting on Friday.
Hours before Khamenei discussed options, Israel targeted the headquarters of the Hezbollah in the suburbs of south Lebanon. High-rises were reduced to rubbles.
Also Read: Is Hassan Nasrallah dead after Israel bombs Hezbollah HQ?
While Khamenei checked details on the Hezbollah casualty, celebrations hit the street in the Opposition controlled Idib district of Syria. They had also celebrated the death of Ebrahim Raisi.
The former Iran President had died in a helicopter crash. His death came shortly after Iran had fired over 300 missiles into Israel.
“Whoever is martyred, someone will replace them. Israel has assassinated many of Iran’s nuclear scientists. Did that stop our nuclear program? The same applies to Lebanon’s Resistance, Khamenei’s advisor Ali Larijani made the statement after the meeting called for the supreme leader of Iran.
Also Read: Israel carpet bombs Lebanon in war escalation with Hezbollah
The statement of Larijani is being seen as a confirmation that Nasrallah is indeed dead. The media arm of the Hezbollah had issued a statement on Friday to rebut reports on the death toll.
But the world is finally coming to the view that Israel has finally taken out Nasrallah. After over 12-hour of the bombing of the Hezbollah headquarters, the Middle East observers are watching the next step of Iran.
Nadav Eyal, an Israeli columnist, spelt out three consequences after the “killing of Nasrallah”. “There have always been only three options. The first is a ceasefire in the south and a diplomatic process in the north. This is off the table for now because a deal in the south is not progressing,” said the Israeli strategic thinker in a long post on X.
Also Read: World counsels Israel on war against Lebanon
Eyal spelt out the second option, saying it is for “Hezbollah to decide to stop firing into Israel. Nasrallah prevented that, and Iran backed him. But now, Iran is reconsidering, and Nasrallah is missing.”
He stated that the “third option is an escalation into a full regional war. That’s where we are now, and the decision will be made by Iran’s supreme leader”.
But there appears caution in the Iranian wind. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian at his outing at the United Nations General Assembly this week showed signs of willingness to restart diplomatic engagement with the western world.
Also Read: West urges Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire amid China Ian tango
China is the key adviser of Iran. China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi called on Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UNGA. China pledged support for the “independence and sovereignty of Iran”.
But China is averse to another regional war. Beijing is taking pride in being the peacemaker of the world.
Hours before the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) flattened the six-floor high rises in the neighbourhood hosting the Hezbollah headquarters, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the UNGA. He gave a specific warning to Iran.
“There is no place in Iran and also the Middle East that the long arm of Israel cannot reach,” Netanyahu said at the UNGA. Afterwards, he returned to a bunker in Tel Aviv.
Israel apparently is stoking dread in Iran. “You attack us, we will attack you,” added Netanyahu. Can Khamenei risk his own life in escalation with Israel?
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