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The killing of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, along with a senior commander of Iran’s Quds Force and several other militia leaders tied to Tehran, has sparked a wave of official statements from Iran’s ruling figures, once again shedding light on the regime’s internal dynamics and unified stance on regional conflicts. Despite internal rivalries and competing claims of moderation, every major political faction in Iran came together to express their unwavering support for Hezbollah and what they call the “Axis of Resistance.”
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, increasingly cautious in his public remarks, addressed the nation through state television, stating, “The Zionist criminals should know that they are far too small to cause significant harm to Hezbollah’s solid structure. All the forces of resistance in the region stand alongside Hezbollah and support it. The destiny of this region will be determined by the resistance forces, led by Hezbollah with pride.”
In a notable shift from previous responses, Khamenei refrained from calling for immediate retaliation but emphasized that “all Muslims are obliged to stand by the people of Lebanon and proud Hezbollah in their confrontation with the usurping, oppressive, and wicked regime [Israel].”
Following the attack, Reuters reported that two regional officials confirmed Khamenei had been relocated to a secure location within Iran under strict security protocols, underscoring the heightened tensions in Tehran. This relocation marks a significant moment of caution in the regime, which has been grappling with both domestic unrest and international pressures.
Fact-Checking #Iranian Regime’s President Lies at #UNGA79 https://t.co/US3KpoBd6o
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 25, 2024
Masoud Pezeshkian, who recently returned from a mission in New York aimed at convincing the international community of Tehran’s so-called “moderate” face under his leadership in a bid to ease sanctions, didn’t take long to reveal his true colors upon his return to Iran. Following Nasrallah’s death, Pezeshkian quickly reaffirmed Khamenei’s hardline stance, declaring, “Iran will stand by Hezbollah in facing the Zionist enemy.” This message was echoed by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, who vowed that “Hezbollah should know that we will remain their comrades on the battlefield until the very last moment.”
Even figures previously branded by Western analysts as “moderates” demonstrated the unbroken consensus over Tehran’s regional policies. Ali Larijani, a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a former speaker of parliament, dismissed the notion that Nasrallah’s death would weaken Hezbollah. “Hezbollah has many capable commanders, and for each martyr, there is always a replacement,” Larijani said, speaking on state television. He added, “We defend the resistance today because it is connected to Iran’s national security. The Iranian government has never doubted its defense of the resistance for this very reason.”
Former president Mohammad Khatami, often perceived in the West as a reformist, weighed in with his own message of defiance. In a statement that downplayed Nasrallah’s role in destabilizing the region, Khatami characterized the killers of the people of Iran, Syria and Lebanon as “freedom-loving” and noted, “Let us not doubt that with every martyr who falls for the cause of freedom and for the defenders of human dignity, the dark record of the murderers and savage terrorists grows larger in the eyes of awakened consciences and the free people of the world.”
#Iran News:
Regime’s President-elect Pezeshkian Reaffirms Support for #Hezbollah and Regional Terrorismhttps://t.co/fCdhmbAyx7— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 9, 2024
Former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who now serves as an advisor to Pezeshkian, expressed his condolences to Khamenei, lamenting Nasrallah’s death and hoping for “the triumph of truth over falsehood.”
Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the regime’s first Supreme Leader and another figure sometimes regarded by Western pundits as moderate, stressed the continuity of Nasrallah’s mission in his message, saying, “Today, in order to successfully navigate this sensitive phase, it is essential to repel the enemy’s influence, avoid senseless divisions, and rally around the axis of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.”
This unified response underscores a stark reality inside Iran’s fractured regime. While internal disputes and rivalries over how to manage the state’s myriad crises are rampant, support for the regime’s regional militias remains the common denominator. Even those who try to present themselves as reformists or moderates show no hesitation in backing the “Axis of Resistance As observers note, “it is clear that officials who earned their positions solely through participation in crimes have no real disagreements with their past allies and current rivals when it comes to the regime’s survival strategies.”
What surprises many, however, is the persistence of Western analysts and policymakers in viewing certain Iranian figures as moderates despite their clear commitment to the regime’s foundational policies. Some continue to cling to the hope of reform from within the regime, even as evidence repeatedly shows that such change is illusory, a “mirage” that not only harms the people of the Middle East but also endangers international peace and security.
