A day after Ali Larijani walked in the funeral procession of al-Mayadeen reporter in the streets of Beirut under the threat of an Israeli drone, Ali Afif, the head of Hezbollah’s media affairs, was assassinated.
The message of this attack is clear:
Kabul 24: In response to Iran’s diplomatic maneuver to support Hezbollah and Syria, the red line was moved once again to show that there are no restrictions on Israel’s path.
During the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, Mohammad Saeed al-Sahaf, as the spokesman and media face of the Iraqi Baath government, was the main person responsible for the propaganda against the American and British invasion.
However, after the fall of Saddam, he was immediately free and immune from prosecution and punishment.
Afif was also a civilian figure and the only face of Hezbollah who still held his news conferences live in Dahiya.
Therefore, his assassination during the ceasefire negotiations in Lebanon and Tehran’s diplomatic show to strengthen Hezbollah shows Israel’s aim to impose new arrangements in the region.
In other words, Israel not only does not accept Hizbollah equipped with missile and drone arsenal located in the southern borders of Lebanon, but also by targeting political figures and economic interests and its population base in the idea of turning it into a small and ineffective force.
Ironically, the trip of Ali Larijani and Iran’s Defense Minister was designed and carried out precisely to deal with this goal;
The Islamic Republic will not stop supporting Hezbollah. He insists on maintaining the Tehran-Damascus-Beirut supply line to continue supporting it.
Also, it is ready to strengthen its position during the ongoing ceasefire negotiations to come out of the current war with less damage.
Before Afif’s assassination, Israel reacted to his trip by bombing a place near Larijani’s residence in Damascus.
Before that, he openly threatened to assassinate Bashar al-Assad if he helped Hezbollah.
He has sent messages with the same clarity and content to the Lebanese government about bombing Beirut airport and closing the Lebanese sky in case Iran uses it to help Hezbollah.
In order to achieve its ultimate goal of severely weakening Hezbollah, Israel is eyeing more than Resolution 1701, the implementation of which is the main position of the Lebanese government.
According to this resolution, Hezbollah forces must evacuate the border area and retreat to the Litani river shore.
In addition, Tel Aviv wants to have some kind of permanent freedom of action to violate Lebanese airspace in order to monitor and contain Hezbollah’s movements and prevent its rearmament.
This stubborn position can put Iran in front of difficult choices, the last of which could be a direct entry and possibly carrying out the Sadeq 3 operation.
Its main hope now is Hezbollah’s stability in the war and developments that may take place in the field and reduce Israel’s resilience.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has overcome the initial wave of shock and confusion and has achieved a coherent approach.
This is precisely the reason why Israeli strategists have set the foundation for cutting off its relations with Iran and Syria and implementing a scorched earth policy in Lebanon.
With the arrival of Trump, Israel has seen its hand more open and its current position, which is becoming a proxy force of America in the battle against the Islamic Republic and its network of allies, is more solid.
Saladin Khadio
