Iran looking at Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire as opportunity to rebuild militant group

Iran is looking at this week’s ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as an opportunity to rebuild the Lebanon-based militant group, according to a report by the Washington Post.

The report, citing sources, said that the truce gives Iran a chance to reassess and regroup its most powerful proxy in the region and attempt to reestablish its deterrent capabilities.

As per the newspaper, Hezbollah was hoping for more support from Iran’s other proxies present in the region at the time when Israel launched its military campaign against its sites across Lebanon.

“Lebanon was at its most vulnerable during heavy bombings, yet support from other members of the resistance axis, including Yemen and Iraq, was minimal at best,” one of the sources close to Hezbollah was quoted as saying.

During the war, Israel delivered several crushing blows to Hezbollah including the group’s long-standing leader in September, along with other high-ranking officials.

“Iran is prepared to allocate funds for reconstruction and to ensure Hezbollah’s survival, as well as to maintain support within the Shiite community,” the source added according to the report.

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi welcomed the ceasefire on Wednesday (Nov 27) and expressed hope that it would be permanent. 

Araqchi further said that the ceasefire would ease tensions between Israel and Iran depending upon the behaviour of Israel.

“Of course, we reserve the right to respond to the recent Israeli aggression, but we are taking all developments in the region into account,” he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Thursday (Nov 28) reported the arrival of suspects into Lebanon’s southern regions and called it a violation of the ceasefire with Hezbollah, reported news agency Reuters.

Earlier, the Lebanon-based militant organisation said its fighters were “full equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy” and said their forces had their hands on the “trigger.” Earlier, Hezbollah claimed victory in the ongoing conflict with the Jewish nation without any mention of the fragile truce.

(With inputs from agencies)