ECONOMIC CRISIS
For Tehran-based international relations professor Mehdi Zakerian, developments have shown that the Iran-aligned resistance front “was not only unable to contain Israel, it also suffered serious blows”.
Nasrallah’s death came around two months after Palestinian group Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in late July in Tehran where he had attended President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
Iran blamed Israel for his death and vowed to retaliate.
Zakerian says rebuilding Hezbollah will be no small feat for Tehran amid its mounting economic challenges.
“If the government wants to get involved in reconstructing Lebanon or re-equipping Hezbollah, it will aggravate Iran’s economic crisis,” he said.
Iran has been reeling from the economic impact of international sanctions, which have contributed to soaring inflation, high unemployment and a record low rate for the Iranian rial against the US dollar.
Pezeshkian’s government has boosted efforts to help ease the crippling sanctions and revive a 2015 landmark nuclear deal which collapsed when the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord three years later.
Analysts have said Iran has been treading carefully since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, trying to project power without provoking a US response.
Even during its first-ever direct attack on Israel in April – retaliation for an air strike on Tehran’s embassy annex in Damascus – most projectiles were intercepted by Israeli defences or allied forces.
Iran said at the time it had informed the United States and given neighbouring nations a 72-hour warning before what it called its “limited” attack on Israel.
Still, Vaez said Iran “has every interest in trying to preserve whatever remains of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is Iran’s shield”.
“I don’t think Iranians would give up on almost 40 years of investment in this project overnight because a dozen people were eliminated,” he added.
Source: CNA
