Aug 10, 2013

TEHRAN — Hours after Hassan Rouhani assumed office in Iran, news from south Lebanon emerged; four Israeli soldiers were wounded after being ambushed inside Lebanese territory. Both Israel and Hezbollah maintained silence over the attack, as Al-Monitor published on Aug. 9, but sources in Lebanon confirmed that the ambush was newly prepared. Given the organic relationship between Tehran and Hezbollah, several questions were raised on Iran's new leadership's view and its approach toward Hezbollah.

Iranian officials smile when asked about Hezbollah: “Whoever the president is, whoever the ministers are, Hezbollah will still be the same Hezbollah to Iran,” said an official in Tehran on condition of anonymity. The source, an official who has visited Lebanon on several occasions, believes that those who think Iran will change its view and ties with Hezbollah because of presidential change are “either naive or daydreamers — Hezbollah to Iran isn't a card to play with.” The source added, “Hezbollah today is the crown jewel of the resistance bloc; presidential moderation doesn't mean giving up the nation's strengths." According to the source, “Hezbollah is defending the resistance bloc against Israel and the takfiris (radicals) — this means there should be more support for it." The source added that Iran's “main enemy in the region is Israel, and Hezbollah defeated Israel in 2006, and is capable of defeating it once again if a war sparked.”

As for the new government, there are no signs that it has any members who oppose Iran's support for Hezbollah. Rouhani himself is regarded as a hard-liner when it comes to Israel and Iran's relationships with resistance groups.

Rouhani, responding to a message of felicitation from Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on his victory in Iran's June 14 presidential election, said: “No doubt, your tireless and dedicated efforts and those of Hezbollah warriors on the scene of resistance promise the decisive victory of the resistant Lebanese and Palestinian nations which has always been supported by the Islamic Republic, over the Zionist regime."

To prove his point, the source asked whether I knew who Iran's defense minister, Hussein Dehgan, is.