March 6, 2026 | The National Interest
Why Hezbollah Joined the Iran War
The Lebanese terrorist group’s seemingly self-defeating move underscores its absolute loyalty to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
March 6, 2026 | The National Interest
Why Hezbollah Joined the Iran War
The Lebanese terrorist group’s seemingly self-defeating move underscores its absolute loyalty to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Excerpt
Lebanon is now a front in the US-Israeli campaign against Iran. Within hours of Iran announcing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s assassination, Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into northern Israel, prompting a predictably massive Israeli response in which Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price.” Hezbollah’s move, otherwise inexplicable and seemingly suicidal, appears geared to alleviating the war’s pressure on Iran to maximize the regime’s chances of survival.
Hezbollah was deliberately non-committal about joining the fray in the weeks leading up to the outbreak of hostilities. OnJanuary 26, Secretary-General Naim Qassem said Hezbollah “cannot be neutral” in a war against Iran, due to the religious and political significance of its supreme leader. The course of action that Hezbollah would take, however, would be decided “at the time and based on the course of the battle,” he said. After an Agence France-Presse report suggested Hezbollah was drawing a “red line” on Khamenei’s safety, the group quickly clarified to Alaraby al-Jadeed that it remained committed to Qassem’s stance and would not preempt the course of the war.
After Khamenei’s death had been confirmed, Hezbollah’s initial statements were mournful but non-threatening, strengthening the impression that the group would not intervene. Hezbollah even scheduled a mass gathering on March 3 in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre to eulogize the fallen Iranian supreme leader.
Hezbollah finally ended this uncertainty when it attacked Israel. In the first statement issued by its Islamic Resistance, the group framed the operation as “retaliation the criminal Zionist enemy cruelly and treacherously shedding the pure blood of…Khamenei.” The statement then also described the barrage as a delayed act of self-defense against Israel’s ongoing operations in Lebanon, which is how the group has since tried to reframe its decision to attack Israel.
Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Middle East affairs, specifically the Levant, Iraq, and Iranian intervention in Arab affairs, as well as US foreign policy toward the region. David Daoud is a senior fellow at FDD, focused on Lebanon and Hezbollah.