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Statements and speeches at the event have all indicated that Iran’s axis believes that the 'resistance' is not defeated.
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN FEBRUARY 23, 2025 16:27 Updated: FEBRUARY 23, 2025 16:31
A vehicle carries the coffins of former Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, who were killed in Israeli airstrikes last year, during a public funeral ceremony, in Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon February 23, 2025.
(photo credit: REUTERS/THAIER AL-SUDANI)
Pro-Iranian groups from across the Middle East gathered in Beirut on February 23 to bury Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The gathering looked like something out of the scene in the Godfather where the heads of the “five families” gathered.
Not only did pro-Iranian militia leaders from Iraq show up, but also Iranian officials, and there were remotely recorded speeches by Hezbollah’s current leader and Iran’s Supreme Leader.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, sent a message for the funeral. “The great mujahid and leading commander of the Resistance in the region, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah (may God elevate his status), is now at a position that is the height of honor. His pure body will be laid to rest in the land of jihad for the sake of God, but his spirit and his path will shine more gloriously each day, God willing, illuminating the way for those who follow him,” the Iranian leader said.
An Iranian government delegation also came to the funeral and met with the Lebanese president. “The delegation headed by Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sat down with Aoun on Sunday to exchange views on regional developments,” Iran’s state media said.
The delegation included “Ebrahim Azizi, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, Abolfazl Amouei, the Parliament speaker’s special assistant for international affairs, and lawmaker Seyed Mahmoud Nabavian were among those who met with the Lebanese president.” Many of these Iranian officials and also pro-Iranian groups marched at the funeral.
The Iranian foreign minister said in a statement “that Nasrallah was a strategic thinker who transformed Hezbollah from a mere military group into a political and ideological entity.” Hezbollah members and supporters also gathered in Dahieh in Beirut, where Nasrallah was killed. The site of his death, a giant crater, has become a kind of pilgrimage site.
Members of the powerful Iraq group of pro-Iran militias called Hashd al-Shaabi also arrived in Beirut. They had flown from Baghdad International Airport via the VIP section.
These included Falih al-Fayyadh, the head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, and his Chief of Staff Abu Fadak. Abu Fadak is also the head of Kataib Hezbollah.
Kataib Hezbollah is a key pro-Iran militia in Iraq with close ties to the IRGC. Members of other Iraqi militias flew in as well, including men from Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Harakat Hezbollah an Nujaba.
Qais al-Khazali, the secretary general of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, said that the “Iraqi resistance will carry forward the mission of the late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who dedicated his life to defending the oppressed,” according to Iran’s IRNA.
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He called Nasrallah a “great man who spent his entire life in the path of jihad and defense of the oppressed,” according to the Al-Ahed news website. The same report, which was also released by IRNA, said 200,000 Iraqis went to Lebanon for the funeral.
A Houthi delegation attended the funeral
A Houthi delegation from Yemen also came to the funeral, and events were held by the pro-Iran Houthis in Yemen. There were also delegations from Turkey and other countries at the event.
The speeches and statements at the event have all indicated that Iran’s axis of various groups in the region believes that the “resistance” is not defeated.
They are vowing to continue to confront Israel in the future. Israel has another message for them.
The Israel Air Force overflew Beirut during the events and also struck a site in Lebanon. The IDF said that “the IDF struck military sites containing rocket launchers and weapons where Hezbollah activity was identified in the area of Baalbek and several additional areas in southern Lebanon.”
It was one of two incidents the IDF mentioned on February 23. In addition, on February 22, the IDF said that it ”conducted a strike on border crossings on the Syria-Lebanon border through which the Hezbollah terrorist organization has attempted to smuggle weapons into Lebanon.”
The Beirut funeral is important for Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian groups. They need a show of strength to show that Israel did not weaken them. The meetings with the new president of Lebanon were designed to showcase this. However, the IDF’s flyover shows that things are not as they were a year ago.
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