Naim Qassem was named Hezbollah leader in October after Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah [Getty]
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem as his representative to Lebanon, just days after Australia imposed sanctions on him.
Qassem will handle “non-litigious matters” and “religious affairs” in Lebanon on behalf of Khamenei, a copy of the decree said.
The late leader of the Lebanese Shia group, Hassan Nasrallah, previously held the position.
Qassem became the head of the Iran-backed group in October 2024, a month after Nasrallah was assassinated by Israel in an airstrike in Beirut.
Hezbollah will hold a public funeral for Nasrallah and the late Hashem Safieddine on 23 February.
Safieddine, who was the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, was expected to become its leader before being assassinated a few days after Nasrallah.
Qassem’s appointment came two days after Australia announced it would impose sanctions on the Hezbollah leader.
“Hezbollah is responsible for the deaths of countless civilians in Lebanon, Israel and across the Middle East,”the Australian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Australia has proscribed Hezbollah as a “terrorist organisation” since 2021 and its military wing since 2003.
Hezbollah condemned the “unjust” decision as proof that the Australian government was “a tool in the service of the American-Zionist project”.
“It would have been better if the Australian government had stood by the oppressed people of Lebanon and Palestine and punished the Zionist murderers,” it said.
Qassem has been subject to US sanctions since 2018.
