Hassan Nasrallah was the longtime leader of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah confirmed on September 28 that Nasrallah was killed in massive Israeli strikes on the Lebanese, capital, Beirut the day before.

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Hezbollah Confirms Leader Nasrallah Killed In Israeli Strikes

In his more than 30 years in charge of Hezbollah, Nasrallah transformed the Shi'ite militia into a major political force in Lebanon and a powerful adversary of neighboring Israel.

In that time, the 64-year-old cleric became one of the most powerful and polarizing figures in the Middle East.

To many members of Lebanon's Shi'ite community, a historically marginalized group, he was a hero. But others considered him a warmonger who dragged the country into regional conflicts.

Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.

Nasrallah was born in 1960 to a poor family in the southern suburbs of Beirut. After studying at a Shi'ite seminary in Iraq, Nasrallah joined the Amal movement, a militia that sought to elevate the status of Lebanon's Shi'ite community.

Following Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon in 1982 -- during Lebanon's devastating civil war -- Nasrallah joined the newly formed Hezbollah.

A charismatic cleric and skilled orator, Nasrallah quickly rose through Hezbollah's ranks. When Israel assassinated Hezbollah chief Abbas al-Musawi in 1992, Nasrallah was picked as his successor at the age of 32.

Nasrallah forged a close relationship with Shi'a-majority Iran, Hezbollah's key backer. With significant financial and political assistance from Tehran, Nasrallah built Hezbollah into a powerful political and military entity in Lebanon and a major player in the region.

Hezbollah's fight against Israel won Nasrallah support inside and outside Lebanon. In 2000, following persistent Hezbollah attacks, Israel withdrew its forces from southern Lebanon after an 18-year occupation.

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What Is Hezbollah, The Iran-Backed Group Fighting Israel?

In 2006, Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers triggered a devastating 34-day war with Israel. Despite the destruction and loss of life caused, the war boosted the standing of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the region.

Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hezbollah came to the aid of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during that country's civil war, trained Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen, and assisted Hamas, the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group.

Hezbollah has also been accused of orchestrating the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires.

The cleric was rarely seen in public in the past two decades, with most of his supporters witnessing his once black beard turning gray only on television screens. Wearing a black turban, Nasrallah often delivered long speeches via video link from secret locations due to security concerns.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged constant cross-border attacks. Hezbollah has said that it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

SEE ALSO:

Haunted By War: One Man's Fight For Survival As Israel Pounds Southern Lebanon

Nasrallah's organization suffered major setbacks in recent months. Israel assassinated key members of Hezbollah's leadership, neutralized a significant part of its military arsenal, and disrupted its communications.

In his most recent speech on September 19, following suspected Israeli attacks targeting electronic devices used by members of Hezbollah, Nasrallah warned Israel that "retribution will come."

The death of Hassan Nasrallah is a significant blow to Hezbollah and the organization's key sponsor, Iran.

Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, said Nasrallah was killed in Israeli air strikes in the capital, Beirut, on September 27.

In his more than 30 years in charge of Hezbollah, Nasrallah transformed the Shi'ite militia into a major political force in Lebanon and a powerful adversary of neighboring Israel.

Hezbollah -- considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing -- is also a leading member of Iran's so-called axis of resistance, a loose network of Iranian proxies and Tehran-backed militant groups against Israel and the United States.

SEE ALSO:

Who Was Hassan Nasrallah, The Assassinated Leader Of Hezbollah?

Nasrallah’s death is "a major loss and embarrassment" for Iran, said Ali Fathollah-Nejad, director of the Berlin-based Center for Middle East and Global Order.

It constitutes the "heaviest blow to Tehran's regional standing" since the assassination of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike in Iraq in 2020, Fathollah-Nejad told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

Nasrallah, Soleimani, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "constituted the nucleus of Iran's expansive regional ambitions," he said.

A charismatic cleric and skilled orator, Nasrallah was picked as Hezbollah chief at the age of 32. With significant financial and political assistance from Tehran, Nasrallah built Hezbollah into a powerful political and military entity in Lebanon and a major player in the region.

The 64-year-old's death will have "serious implications" for the operations of Iran's axis of resistance, said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

"In the short term, it will result in serious gaps, lack of coordination, and ambiguity," he told RFE/RL.

SEE ALSO:

Iran's 'Axis Of Resistance': Different Groups, Same Goals

Yemen's Huthi rebels, another member of the axis, could take the mantle from Hezbollah if Iran decides to establish a new hierarchy in the network, Azizi says.

The Huthis have been "more effective" at challenging Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war than other axis members and suffered less blowback, Azizi said.

"But there is no guarantee that they will remain as such, given Israel's determination to go after [members of the axis] one by one," he added.

For Hezbollah, Nasrallah's death could be disastrous, experts say.

"Nasrallah will be difficult to replace," said Norman Roule, a veteran of the CIA who worked at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

"Any successor will lack his political stature in Lebanon and personal relationship with Iran’s supreme leader," Roule told Radio Farda.

Hezbollah has suffered major setbacks in recent months. Israel has assassinated key members of its leadership, neutralized a significant part of its military arsenal, and disrupted its communications.

"Israel's Defense Forces have eradicated an entire generation of Hezbollah leadership who take with them a collective pool of experience that is collectively irreplaceable," Roule said.

SEE ALSO:

What Is Hezbollah, The Iran-Backed Group Fighting Israel?

Heiko Wimmen of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said Hezbollah was too "institutionalized to be decapitated."

But, he added, the organization can only withstand so many "dramatic blows" before "something will eventually give," he told Radio Farda.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside Iran with heightened security measures in place, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters. The sources said Iran was in constant contact with Lebanon's Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Israel announced that it had killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on south Beirut on September 27.

Iran-allied militant group Hezbollah has confirmed in a statement that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed, confirming the Israeli military's earlier claim that it had killed him in a series of strikes.

"Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah, has joined his great, immortal martyr comrades whom he led for about 30 years," Hezbollah said in a statement on September 28.

Hezbollah, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, vowed to continue its fight against Israel despite the death of its leader.

Earlier on September 28, Israel's military said that it killed Nasrallah in a series of strikes in Beirut a day earlier.

The Arabic spokesman of the Israeli Defense Forces, Avichay Adraee, said in a statement on X earlier that Nasrallah, Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah's southern front, and a number of other commanders of this group were killed.

"The message is clear: We will reach everyone who threatens the citizens of Israel in the north, in the south, and on more distant fronts."

The Israeli Defense Force also posted a message on X, saying, "Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world."

In the statement announcing Nasrallah's death, Hezbollah also offered its condolences to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an open admission of the group's close ties with Tehran.

Khamenei earlier on September 28 issued a statement condemning what he said was an Israeli "massacre" in Lebanon, but did not mention Nasrallah's fate.

SEE ALSO:

Who Was Hassan Nasrallah, The Assassinated Leader Of Hezbollah?

"The massacre of the defenseless people in Lebanon once again revealed the ferocity of the Zionist rabid dog to everyone, and proved the short-sighted and stupid policy of the leaders of the usurping regime," Khamenei said.

However, Reuters quoted sources as saying Khamenei had been transferred to a secure location, with heightened security measures in place.

Israeli media also reported on September 28 that Nasrallah's daughter, Zainab Nasrallah, had been killed in the strikes. Hezbollah has not confirmed the report. Nasrallah's son, Hadi, was killed in fighting against Israeli troops in 1997.

The Israeli military initially said on September 27 that the series of strikes had targeted Hezbollah's "central headquarters" located under residential buildings in Beirut without officially mentioning Nasrallah by name.

Amateur video showed massive blasts striking the area.

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Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party. Hezbollah's political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament.

Hezbollah was established some 40 years ago with the aid of Iran, and Nasrallah joined the newly formed group in 1982. He oversaw it becoming one of the Middle East's most powerful paramilitary forces.

Led by Nasrallah, Hezbollah has developed close ties with other Iranian proxies and Tehran-backed armed groups, helping to train and arm their fighters.

Heiko Wimmen, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told RFE/RL that Israel's repeated blows, while not being able to annihilate Hezbollah completely, have degraded it to a large extent.

He said the latest strikes would press the group to show it can still react forcefully.

"It is obviously yet another dramatic blow. Many dramatic blows can add up to [make] a fundamental one. In general, Hamas is too much institutionalized to be decapitated, but [the Israelis] have wiped out so many of the cadres that something will give eventually. And then there is the lack to their credibility. If today is not enough for them to throw at Israel all they have, then the impression deepens that they just can't do it."

Analyst Norman Roule of the Washington-based National Security Institute said Israel has weakened Hezbollah to the point where the Lebanese government could actually expunge the group.

"Israel's Defense Forces have eradicated an entire generation of Hezbollah leadership who take with them a collective pool of experience that is collectively irreplaceable.... In a perfect world, the Lebanese government would use this moment to assert its authority and rid Lebanon of this armed group. [However], it is too early to say whether this will happen," Roule told RFE/RL.

Nasrallah's death is a huge embarrassment for Iran's leadership as well, Berlin-based analyst Ali Fathollah-nejad told RFE/RL.

"It would constitute the most heavy blow to Tehran's regional standing after the U.S. drone killing of General Qassem Soleimani. Nasrallah, Soleimani, and Khamenei -- Iran's supreme leader -- constituted the nucleus of Iran's expansive regional ambitions," Fathollah-nejad told RFE/RL before the death was confirmed.

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Early on September 28, Israel's military launched a fresh round of strikes against what it said were Hezbollah targets in southern Beirut and in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, claiming that Hezbollah had stored weapons at the sites, after urging residents to evacuate them.

It also reported strikes in the ancient city of Tyre early on September 28.

Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV reported at least four buildings were destroyed in the strikes and that there were heavy casualties. The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and more than 90 were injured.

Video posted online indicated large areas of devastation.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the United States did not have advance warning of the Israeli strike.

"The United States was not involved in this operation and we had no advanced warning," Singh told reporters.

On September 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the United Nations that actions against Hezbollah would not stop.

During his address to the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu gave arch-foe Iran a stark warning, saying there is "no place in Iran" that Israel can't reach if the Islamic republic continues to try and strike Israel.

He also said that “we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met."

Netanyahu said the UN Security Council should reimpose sanctions on Tehran to ensure it doesn't get nuclear weapons, adding Israel will do "everything in its power" to prevent such a scenario.

"We're defending ourselves, but we're also defending you against a common enemy that through violence and terror seeks to destroy our way of life," he said in reference to Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that "the path to diplomacy" is still open in the Middle East despite Israel's latest massive strike targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah's central headquarters in Lebanon, but he insisted Israel and Hezbollah must both "stop firing."

Elsewhere, Iran, Russia, and their allies condemned the strikes on a Beirut suburb -- which Israel TV said was aimed at Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah -- with Tehran calling it a "war crime."

The attacks against Hezbollah came as many world leaders -- including those from the Middle East -- were in New York for the annual UN General Assembly gathering on September 27.

They also came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the UN that his country would continue attacks against Hezbollah in its effort to "degrade" the militant group's capabilities.

The Israeli military acknowledged the attacks but did not directly confirm whether Nasrallah was the target, and his fate remained unknown and subject to widespread speculation in the hours following the action.

SEE ALSO:

Israel Targets Hezbollah Leader In Massive Beirut Attack

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the global community to "stop" Israel from waging a "genocidal war" against Lebanon.

"This new Israeli aggression proves that the Israeli enemy doesn't care about all the international efforts and calls for a cease-fire," Mikati said.

In a news conference on the sidelines of the General Assembly, Blinken said, "The path to diplomacy may seem difficult to see at this moment, but it is there, and in our judgment, it is necessary. We will continue to work intensely."

"The most important thing to do through diplomacy is to try first to stop firing in both directions and then to use the time that we would have in such a cease-fire to see if we can reach a broader diplomatic agreement."

He added that Israel has a right to defend itself from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles inside Israeli territory with increased intensity since Israel's war in Gaza began. But he also added that the manner in which it defends itself is also important.

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Leaders from around the world commented on the escalation.

EUROPEAN UNION -- Foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said, "What we do is to put all diplomatic pressure to a cease-fire, but nobody seems to be able to stop Netanyahu, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank."

He said the Israeli leader has made it clear his country won't "stop until Hezbollah is destroyed," which will likely mean "a long war."

RUSSIA -- Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the Middle East was at the precipice of a "full-blown" war following the strikes in Lebanon.

JORDAN -- Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters, "It is time to face the truth, and the truth is unless Netanyahu is stopped, unless this government is stopped, war will encompass all of us."

SAUDI ARABIA -- Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said Israel's strikes had increased the risk of the situation tumbling out of control.

"We believe very, very, very strongly that a cease-fire is necessary, that the guns are not going to solve anything, that we need to move toward peace in our region, and that peace is firmly rooted in addressing the Palestinian issue," he said.

GERMANY -- Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, "We must avoid Lebanon becoming the next Gaza. This cannot be in Israel's interest either, especially not in terms of security.”

IRAN -- The Iranian Embassy in Lebanon warned of a "dangerous escalation" in the region. "This reprehensible crime...represents a dangerous escalation that changes the rules of the game," it said.

President Masud Pezeshkian also condemned the attacks, calling it a "clear and undeniable war crime."

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

The U.S. Justice Department on September 27 unsealed criminal charges accusing three members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of hacking Donald Trump's presidential campaign and trying to disrupt the November 5 election. The indictment is the latest effort by the Biden administration to counter foreign efforts to interfere in the presidential election between Trump, a Republican, and his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris. The U.S. Treasury Department also said it was imposing sanctions on seven members of the IRGC.

Israeli launched a massive strike on what it said was Iran-allied Hezbollah's central headquarters in a Beirut suburb, with Israeli TV saying leader Hassan Nasrallah was the intended target, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the UN that actions against the designated terrorist organization would not stop.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s army spokesman, on September 27 said the country’s forces had targeted Hezbollah's main headquarters located under residential buildings.

"Moments ago, the Israel Defense Forces carried out a precise strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization…taking the necessary action to protect our people so that Israeli families can live in their homes, safely and securely," Hagari said.

WATCH: Amateur video caught a huge blast in a suburb of Beirut as Israel said it had launched a strike targeting the headquarters of Hezbollah. Israeli TV said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the intended target.

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The Israeli military later said it had launched further widespread attacks on Hezbollah sites following the earlier strikes on the headquarters as it continued to "degrade and dismantle" the group's capabilities.

Shortly after midnight, the Israeli military said it had launched fresh strikes on three additional buildings in south Beirut, claiming that Hezbollah had stored weapons at the sites, after urging residents to evacuate them. It also reported strikes in the ancient city of Tyre early on September 28.

Israel also said its warplanes were patrolling near the Beirut Airport and insisted it would not allow Iran to transfer weapons to Hezbollah through the facility.

Speculation was rife on Nasrallah's whereabouts and condition following the attack, although no official information was immediately available.

The Israeli military did not confirm that Nasrallah was the target of the attack.

A senior Israeli official told Reuters that it "was too early" to tell whether Nasrallah had been hit in the strike.

The official said it was "hoped" Israel would not have to conduct a ground operation in Lebanon but that it would not rule it out.

Led by Nasrallah, Hezbollah has developed close ties with other Iranian proxies and Tehran-backed armed groups, helping to train and arm their fighters.

Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV reported at least four buildings were destroyed in the strikes, that there were heavy casualties, and that ambulances were headed to the site. The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and more than 90 were injured.

Video posted online indicated large areas of devastation.

Shahan Kandaharian, editor-in-chief of the Armenian-language Azdak daily in Beirut, reported hearing strong explosions.

"We learned that it was an air strike at Hezbollah's headquarters located in Beirut's southern suburb," he told RFE/RL's Armenian Service.

“The whole city was shaking. I was at the office and we could clearly hear the explosions. I heard 10 explosions, one following another," he added, adding it "was a very heavy strike."

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the United States did not have advance warning of the Israeli strike.

"The United States was not involved in this operation and we had no advanced warning," Singh told reporters.

Earlier, Netanyahu gave arch foe Iran a stark warning during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, saying there is "no place in Iran" that Israel can't reach if the Islamic republic continues to try and strike Israel.

He also said that “we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met."

As the Israeli prime minister began his speech, several delegations -- including Iran's -- walked out of the UNGA in protest while many who remained in the hall cheered or yelled angrily.

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What Is Hezbollah, The Iran-Backed Group Fighting Israel?

Netanyahu was preceded by speakers from Slovenia and Pakistan, both of whom called for him to stop the war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

He said he didn't plan on giving a speech at the meeting this year but after hearing the "lies and slander leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight."

Netanyahu then quickly turned his focus to Iran, which he blamed for "organizing" the current outbreak of violence in the Middle East.

"I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: If you strike us, we will strike you," Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly.

"There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that's true of the entire Middle East."

SEE ALSO:

Haunted By War: One Man's Fight For Survival As Israel Pounds Southern Lebanon

Netanyahu said the UN Security Council should reimpose sanctions on Tehran to ensure it doesn't get nuclear weapons, adding Israel will do "everything in its power" to prevent such a scenario.

"We're defending ourselves, but we're also defending you against a common enemy that through violence and terror seeks to destroy our way of life," he said in reference to Iran.

Netenyahu's speech came amid a diplomatic push by the United States, France, and other Western allies for a 21-day cease-fire after fighting across the Lebanon-Israel border intensified this week with Israel bombarding what it says are targets of Iran-backed Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which Israel says has launched thousands of rockets at its territory over the past year, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party. Hezbollah’s political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament.

The intensified fighting has killed hundreds, according to Lebanese health officials, with aid agencies and governments on both sides saying tens of thousands more have been displaced.

Amid fears the conflict will spread across the entire Middle East, Washington has warned any further escalation would only make it harder for civilians on both sides to return home.

The White House has said the cease-fire proposal had been "coordinated" with Israel, but Netanyahu's office has said the prime minister has not responded to the proposal.

The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas fighters spilled across the border last October and killed some 1,200 people inside Israeli territory. Some 240 more people were taken back into the Gaza Strip as hostages.

Israel has launched a withering offensive against Hamas in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre.

In his speech to the UNGA, Netanyahu vowed "Hamas has got to go" and would have no role in the reconstruction of Gaza as he vowed to fight until "total victory."

With reporting by Reuters

Abu Muhammad is one of only two people still living in a 12-story residential building in Lebanon’s southern city of Tyre.

Most of the city’s 200,000 residents have fled since Israel launched devastating air raids across the country on September 23.

“There’s no life here anymore,” said Muhammad, who is a building janitor. “Everyone is gone. Nearly all the shops are closed. There is only one bakery open.”

Israel’s ongoing air strikes targeting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, has taken a huge toll on civilians.

Nearly 700 people have been killed and over 100,000 displaced just this week in Lebanon. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has been accused of firing some 8,000 rockets into northern Israel in the past year, uprooting around 60,000 people, and killing several dozen, including civilians. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.

Scores have been killed in intense shelling and air strikes in and around Tyre, Lebanon’s fourth-largest city and one of the targets of Israel’s air campaign, residents said.

“When an air strike lands close by, I run to a nearby hospital for cover,” said Muhammad. “Otherwise, I stand guard near the entrance gate of the building so nobody tries to break in.”

Muhammad, who is in his 50s, said there is a severe shortage of fuel in the city and electricity is only available for a few hours in the evening. The prices of basic goods have skyrocketed, he said, and many people remaining in the city are relying on their emergency food supplies.

Only the thunder of shelling, the thud of bombs, and the roar of Israeli warplanes puncture the eerie silence enveloping Tyre, a coastal city along the Mediterranean Sea that is popular with vacationers, he said.

Muhammad moved to Tyre, known locally as Sur, after civil war erupted in 2011 in neighboring Syria. He sent his wife and three children back to Syria several months ago.

But Muhammad said he will remain in Tyre, despite the risks, even as tens of thousands of people frantically try to escape southern Lebanon for the relative safety of the capital, Beirut, and northern Lebanon.

“I’m already a refugee,” he said. “Where will I go? I don’t even have the means to leave.”

A bus ticket from Tyre to Beirut usually costs around $3. Now, he said, bus companies are charging up to $100 per person. A taxi costs at least $300, he said.

Escalating Conflict

Israel’s aerial bombardment of Lebanon is the deadliest since the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

The two foes have traded constant cross-border strikes since Israel launched its devastating war in the Gaza Strip in October, following an unprecedented attack on Israel by the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Hezbollah has launched rockets into Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.

Israel has intensified its attacks against Hezbollah in recent weeks. On September 17-18, suspected Israeli attacks targeting electronic devices used by members of the armed group killed dozens of people and injured thousands.

Just days later, Israel launched what some have described as one the most intense air raids in modern warfare, hitting thousands of targets in southern Lebanon and Beirut.

Israeli officials in recent days have suggested that the country is preparing for a ground invasion of Lebanon even as the United States attempts to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

'We Can’t Go Back'

As the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict escalates, ordinary Lebanese and Israelis are bearing the brunt of the violence.

Salah, an academic, fled the town of Aabbassiyeh, near Tyre, with his wife and son after their next-door neighbor’s house was flattened by an Israeli air strike.

“As I was driving out of the town, rockets and missiles were landing near us,” he said. “I saw a residential building collapse behind us.”

SEE ALSO:

What Is Hezbollah, The Iran-Backed Group Fighting Israel?

The drive to Beirut usually takes around one hour. But Salah’s family was on the road for nearly 30 hours, with the country’s main highway choked with thousands of cars.

“It was chaos,” Salah said. “I saw women giving birth on the side of the road. Some cars that had run out of fuel were abandoned. There were up to 10 people crammed in some cars. People were sitting on top of cars or in the trunk.”

Salah and his family are staying in a small apartment in Beirut, which has also been the target of Israeli strikes, with two other families. He does not know when he will be able to return home.

“The worst part is that we can’t go back,” he said. “If one of our relatives is killed there, we can’t bury them. The town is empty and there are bodies lying in the rubble. There’s nobody there to bury them.”

Even as many flee Tyre and neighboring towns, some residents are unable or unwilling to leave.

Among them is Muhammad, a Palestinian refugee whose parents fled to Lebanon decades ago.

“The air strikes in Tyre have been intense,” he said. “Many people have been killed or wounded. There’s shelling all around us. There’s the constant noise of jets flying over the city.”

Despite the grave danger, Muhammad is adamant that he and his family will not leave.

“If we die, I'd rather die in my own home,” said the father of three. “Whenever we hear an air strike, we rush to the basement. We hold hands and we pray.”

Hezbollah is both a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.

It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.

The Shi'ite group emerged during the chaos of Lebanon's civil war and in response to Israel's invasion in 1982.

Hezbollah is believed to have been created by Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the country's armed forces.

The aim of Shi'a-majority Iran was to unite Lebanon's Shi'ite political groups and militias under one organization, says Danny Citrinowicz, a research fellow at the Israel-based Institute for National Security Studies.

Hezbollah was also intended to be a key part of Tehran's deterrence strategy.

"Iran sees the organization as the main factor that will deter Israel or the U.S. from going to war against Iran and works tirelessly to build the organization's power," Citrinowicz said.

The U.S. State Department says Iran has armed and trained Hezbollah fighters and injected hundreds of millions of dollars into the group. The State Department has previously described Hezbollah as "the most technically capable terrorist group in the world."

Hezbollah has around 40,000 fighters, according to the office of the U.S. director of national intelligence, and is said to have over 150,000 rockets and missiles at its disposal, including weapons that can penetrate deep into Israeli territory.

The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah has turned itself "into the world's most powerful nonstate actor."

Citrinowicz says Iran may not dictate orders to the organization but Tehran "profoundly influences" its decision-making process.

He describes Hezbollah not as a proxy but "an Iranian partner managing Tehran's Middle East strategy."

Hezbollah is a key part of Iran's so-called axis of resistance, a loose alliance of proxies and Tehran-backed militant groups against Israel and the United States.

Led by Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah has developed close ties with other Iranian proxies and Tehran-backed armed groups, helping to train and arm their fighters.

Citrinowicz said Tehran "almost depends" on the Lebanese group to oversee its relations with other groups in the axis of resistance.

Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in 2006 triggered a 34-day conflict with Israel, which launched air strikes and a ground offensive into Lebanon.

The war, which ended after a UN-brokered cease-fire, was a major boost to Hezbollah's political standing in Lebanon and the region.

While Hezbollah remains a politically influential player in Lebanon, its support base does not extend beyond the country's Shi'ite community.

Many members of Lebanon's Christian, Druze, and Sunni Muslim communities accuse Hezbollah of operating outside the state's control and of dragging the country into regional conflicts.

"Hezbollah doesn't enjoy the same level of popularity and public support that it did back in 2006," said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. He attributes the decline in Hezbollah's popularity to a series of economic and political scandals involving the group in recent years.

Hezbollah has suffered major setbacks in recent months, with Israel killing many of its senior commanders, neutralizing a significant part of its military arsenal, and disrupting its communications.

While the group has been weakened, experts say the Lebanese militant group should not be written off.

"Hezbollah has enough resources and experience to inflict considerable damage to Israel in a ground war," Azizi added, noting that the group is better armed and trained than the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Poland's Border Guard Service said its officers detained a Belarusian woman who was attempting to smuggle three illegal migrants from Iran and one from Afghanistan into Lithuania in her car.

The border guards stopped the car with Warsaw license plates after it entered the country from Lithuania.

The foreigners had no documents allowing them to legally enter Poland, the Border Guard Service said. Some were seated in the car, while the others were discovered in the vehicle's trunk. Polish authorities handed the four migrants to Lithuania and impounded the car as evidence in the case.

The Belarusian woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was released and ordered to return to Belarus. She was also banned from entering Europe's visa-free Schengen travel zone for 10 years.

The European Union has accused Belarusian authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka of waging a “hybrid war” by allowing migrants to fly in, then funneling them to the bloc’s borders in retaliation for the EU's sanctions imposed over the brutal crackdown on Belarus’s pro-democracy movement following the disputed presidential election in August 2022.

Tens of thousands of the migrants have come from the Middle East and South Asia to the EU's eastern flank, sparking a major border crisis.

Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have since introduced states of emergency along the border and erected high fencing along the frontier with Belarus to stem the flow.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was briefed on September 24 by U.S. intelligence officials on alleged threats from Iran to assassinate him, Trump's campaign said in a statement. The campaign said intelligence officials have identified that Iranian threats have "heightened in the past few months" and U.S. government officials were working to protect Trump and ensure the elections were not impacted. Iran has previously denied U.S. claims of interfering in American affairs. Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment late on September 24.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian has told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that Iran is ready to end its nuclear standoff with the West and called for an end to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East through dialogue.

"We are ready to engage with JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) participants if JCPOA commitments are implemented fully and in good faith. Dialogue on other issues can follow," Pezeshkian said in his first address to the annual gathering on September 24.

Pezeshkian, who was sworn in as president in July after being elected following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, has previously said Tehran would be open to holding talks with the United States to restart the 2015 nuclear deal.

President Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally pulled the United States out of the deal, which was also signed by China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany, and the European Union, and reimposed crippling financial sanctions against Tehran.

President Joe Biden has sought to restart the agreement, but Washington and Tehran have disagreed on terms.

Pezeshkian said Iran hoped to see an easing of sanctions, which he called "destructive and inhumane weapons designed to cripple a nation's economy."

He called for a new global paradigm that focuses on opportunities "rather than being obsessed with perceived threats," saying there is an opportunity to transcend limitations and enter a new era.

"This era will commence with the acknowledgement of Iran's security concerns and cooperation on mutual challenges," he said.

Relations between Iran and the West have worsened since the Iranian-backed Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and as Tehran has increased its support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

But Pezeshkian emphasized in his UNGA speech that Iran wants "peace for all and seek[s] no war or quarrel with anyone" and the urgent need to end military hostilities in Ukraine.

"We support all peaceful solutions and believe that dialogue is the only way to resolve this crisis," he said.

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How Would Iran Benefit From Exporting Ballistic Missiles To Russia?

Pezeshkian also sharply criticized Israel for what he called "its genocide in Gaza" and said it should stop immediately.

"It is imperative that the international community should immediately...secure a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and bring an end to the desperate barbarism of Israel in Lebanon before it engulfs the region and the world," he said.

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Israel's Deadly Strikes On Lebanon Mark Start Of New War

Pezeshkian earlier warned that Israel's air campaign in response to attacks by Hezbollah -- designated as a terrorist organization by the United States -- on its territory from southern Lebanon "may turn into a regional war."

Pezeshkian told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired on September 23 that Iran is supporting Hezbollah because the group "cannot stand alone" in the face of the attacks.

"The danger does exist that the fire of events that are taking place [in Lebanon] will expand to the entire region," he said in the interview, given in Persian and translated into English.

Iran has long been Hezbollah's main sponsor.

Israel has conducted the deadliest bombardment of Lebanon since a devastating five-week conflict with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in 2006.

The September 23-24 attacks that killed hundreds of people mark the start of a new war between Israel and its longtime foe, Hezbollah, experts say.

The sides have exchanged constant cross-border strikes since Israel launched its war in the Gaza Strip in October. Hezbollah has said it has fired rockets on Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.

But Israel's deadly air strikes, coming soon after a series of exploding device attacks in Lebanon that was widely blamed on Israel, indicate the outbreak of a new conflict.

"Both sides can escalate further, but we're already at a level of violence that matches the Second Lebanon War" in 2006, said Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at the Bahrain-based Le Beck International consultancy.

The distinction between the ongoing conflict and a full-scale war "is becoming so narrow that it's almost irrelevant," Horowitz added.

Iran-backed Hezbollah is reeling from a series of setbacks in recent months as Israel has assassinated key members of its leadership and command structure. Israel's suspected attack last week targeting pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah fighters also compromised the group's communications.

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Explainer: Are We Witnessing The Start Of The Third Lebanon War?

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Despite suffering significant losses, experts say the Lebanese militant group should not be written off.

Horowitz warned that putting Hezbollah "fully out of combat is not a realistic objective," given its military arsenal as well as its manpower, which numbers in the tens of thousands.

Hezbollah has retaliated to Israel's aerial bombardment by firing rockets at northern Israel. But the group has yet to use its more sophisticated weapons, such as drones and medium- and long-range rockets that can strike deep into Israeli territory.

Hezbollah insists it will continue to strike Israel unless a cease-fire deal is reached to end the Gaza war. Israel, however, says its goal is to ensure security along its northern border with Lebanon so that displaced Israelis can return home.

"The Israelis think that if they apply enough pressure on Hezbollah, the group will eventually agree to decouple the Lebanon front from the Gaza front -- or face so many losses that its ability to continue the war of attrition it waged against Israel for 11 months will be significantly reduced," Horowitz said.

But experts say Israel is adopting a dangerous strategy by ramping up its attacks against Hezbollah.

"The assessment may be that Israel can neutralize a significant part of Hezbollah's arsenal before the group can use it to carry out massive attacks against central Israel, and that Iran and Hezbollah may also be deterred from escalating," Horowitz said. "That's a very risky bet."

SEE ALSO:

Full-Blown War Between Israel And Iran-Backed Hezbollah 'Not In The Interests' Of Tehran

Iran, Hezbollah's key backer, has been reluctant to directly get involved in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Farda, London-based political commentator Jalali Hashemi said Hezbollah's relatively muted response to the September 23-24 attacks and Iran's unwillingness to get into a direct confrontation with Israel have emboldened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to carry out "more devastating attacks."

Iran and Israel have come to the brink of war on several occasions, including after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, in Tehran in July. Tehran blamed Israel and pledged to retaliate, although there has been no direct military response by Iran.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian warned that Israel's air campaign in Lebanon "may turn into a regional war."

Ali Mohtadi, a Britain-based regional expert, said that during the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006 Tehran refrained from getting directly involved in the hostilities. Instead, Iran provided its ally with logistical support and weapons.

"It is possible that this time, even though Iran is in a different place compared to 2006, it will continue to provide the same level of support to Lebanon [Hezbollah]," Mohtadi told Radio Farda.

With reporting by Elaheh Ravanshad and Hooman Askary of RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Iran's security service was behind a special operation against targets in Sweden, the Nordic country's Prosecutor's Office said.

The operation saw hackers send thousands of text messages to Swedes calling for revenge over 2023 burnings of the Koran, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

Senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement on September 24 that a preliminary investigation showed "it was the Iranian state via the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), that carried out a data breach at a Swedish company that runs a major SMS service."

He added that investigators were able to establish the identities of the Iranian hackers who carried out the data breach.

"The aim was to further tighten the situation and increase the conflict that prevailed between different groups in society," Ljungqvist said, adding that while the conditions for prosecution abroad or extradition to Sweden "are lacking" for those suspected of being behind the breach, the case can be reopened.

It "does not mean that the suspected hackers have been completely written off. As long as the crime is not time-barred, prosecutors can open the preliminary investigation again," Ljungqvist said.

The Iranian Embassy in Stockholm said that the accusations and the act of publishing them "poison and affect the atmosphere of bilateral relations."

The embassy "considers the accusations to be baseless and rejects them," Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted the embassy as saying.

Sweden last summer saw a series of Koran burnings that sparked massive unrest and strained relations between Stockholm and several Middle Eastern countries.

While the Swedish government officially condemned the burnings of a book Muslims consider as the sacred word of God, lawmakers also said they could not stop the actions as they were protected by freedom of speech and assembly laws.

The issue also delayed Sweden's entry to NATO as Turkey raised objections saying it was "unacceptable to allow anti-Islam protests in the name of freedom of expression."

Swedish prosecutors said a group calling itself the Anzu team was the sender of the 15,000 text messages sent to Swedes that called for revenge against Koran burners.

They did not identify the Swedish company that runs the SMS text service.

Iranian authorities on September 23 updated the death toll in a mining explosion to 38, with 14 others still trapped within the mine.

The new death toll was lower that the 51 reported dead on September 22, a day after a coal mine in eastern Iran exploded. Iranian state TV said a methane leak caused the blast late on September 21 at the mine in Tabas, some 540 kilometers southeast of the capital, Tehran.

The efforts to rescue those trapped are proving difficult due to high levels of methane still present throughout the mine, according to Javad Ghenaat, governor of South Khorasan, the province where Tabas is located.

"The concentration of gas in the tunnel of block C is very high, especially at the end of the mine, which has slowed down the rescue and evacuation operations, but continuous work is being done to reach the workshop," Ghenaat said.

Iranian Interior Minister Iskandar Momeni said on September 22 that rescue forces were "400 meters away" from those still trapped within the mine.

An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the incident, according to Iranian authorities. The prosecutor of South Khorasan, Ali Nesai Zahan, announced that an investigation was under way. He also said no one was yet arrested in connection to the incident, and that authorities are awaiting expert opinion to better understand the cause of the explosion.

The explosion has led to the announcement of three days of public morning in South Khorasan, with senior officials from across the country going to Tabas to offer their condolences.

Lax safety standards and inadequate emergency services in mining areas are often blamed for mining accidents. Last year, an explosion at a coal mine in the northern city of Damghan killed six people, and in May 2021 two more died at the same site due to a collapse.

Grammy Award winner Shervin Hajipour, who was facing a prison sentence for creating the viral song Baraye, said on September 23 that his case had been closed and he'd been granted amnesty. In a social media post announcing the news, Hajipour expressed hope that his generation would be able to "live the life it deserves." An Iranian court in March sentenced the 27-year-old to three years and eight months in prison for "inciting unrest against national security" and "spreading propaganda against the regime." He was also ordered to write a song about U.S. "atrocities." The song Baraye became the anthem of the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests in Iran that followed the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly improperly wearing a head scarf. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.

At least 51 people are dead and 20 injured after a blast at a coal mine in eastern Iran, Iranian media report.

Iranian state TV said a methane leak caused the blast late on September 21 at the mine in Tabas, some 540 kilometers southeast of the capital, Tehran. Twenty-four miners were believed to be trapped inside.

Around 70 people had been working there at the time of the blast.

Iran's new reformist President Masud Pezeshkian, preparing to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said he ordered all efforts be made to rescue those trapped and aid their families. He also said an investigation into the incident had begun.

The accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in the B and C blocks of the mine., which is run by the Madanjoo company, state media later reported.

"Seventy-six percent of the country's coal is provided from this region and around eight to 10 big companies are working in the region, including the Madanjoo company," the governor of South Khorasan Province, Ali Akbar Rahimi, told state TV on September 22.

Earlier, state TV broadcast footage of ambulances and helicopters arriving at the scene of the incident to transport the injured to hospitals.

Iran's Red Crescent said search-and-rescue operations were under way in the mine.

"Gas accumulation in the mine" has made the search operations difficult, local prosecutor Ali Nesaei was quoted by IRNA as saying.

"Currently, the priority is to provide aid to the injured and pull people from under the rubble," Nesaei said.

He added that "the negligence and fault of the relevant agents will be dealt with" later.

This is not the first disaster to strike Iran's mining industry.

Last year, an explosion at a coal mine in the northern city of Damghan killed six people, also likely the result of methane, according to local media.

In May 2021, two miners died in a collapse at the same site, local media reported at the time.

A blast in 2017 killed 43 miners in Azad Shahr city in northern Iran, triggering a wave of anger directed at the authorities.

Lax safety standards and inadequate emergency services in mining areas are often blamed for the accidents.

Besides its oil, Iran is also rich in a variety of minerals. Iran annually uses some 3.5 million tons of coal but only extracts about 1.8 million tons from its mines per year. The rest is imported, often used to fuel the country’s steel mills.

With reporting by AFP and AP

Iran has strongly condemned the targeted killing of a military commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in an Israeli air strike in Beirut. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Iran, an ally of Hezbollah, is not planning a direct act of revenge. "The incident is a matter for Hezbollah, and it will certainly show an appropriate reaction in due course," the Iranian chief diplomat said, according to a report published by Iran's ISNA news agency on September 21. Iran would push for international condemnation of Israeli "war crimes" to prevent an even more dangerous escalation of the situation in the Middle East, the minister said.

Iran presented the latest version of its kamikaze drone at a military parade in Tehran on September 21. State broadcaster IRIB reported that the Shahed 136-B drone has a range of 4,000 kilometers. Iran claims to have made great strides in the production of drones in recent years. They are said to play a central role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though Tehran categorically rejects accusations it is supplying Moscow with weapons for its unprovoked aggression.

Israel has reportedly launched new strikes at Hezbollah, which has been designated at terrorist organization by the United States, just inside Lebanon a day after a heavy exchange of missile and drone attacks between the two foes that Iran claimed showed a shift in the balance of power.

State media reported on August 26 that Israel targeted the border village of Tair Harfa and an area near Sidon in Lebanon a day after Hezbollah launched scores of rockets and drones against targets in northern and central Israel in the early hours of August 25. The attack came shortly after Israel carried out what it described as preemptive strikes targeting Hezbollah’s rocket launchers.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from Israel's strikes on August 26.

Iran said on August 26 that the exchange of fire, which marked one of the largest clashes to hit the Middle East since war broke out in the Gaza Strip last October, showed Israel has lost not only its ability to anticipate small-scale attacks but also its deterrent power.

“Despite the full backing of its supporters, including the United States, Israel has lost its deterrent power and ability to predict the time and place of even a limited and calibrated attack,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani wrote on X, referring to the large-scale attack on Israel by Iran’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah a day earlier.

“The occupying regime has always sought territorial expansion, but now has to defend itself within the occupied territories,” Kanani added. “Fear has been embedded in the homes of the residents of the occupied lands.”

Israeli officials said the preemptive attack prevented the launch of “thousands” of rockets. Hezbollah claimed to have launched more than 320 rockets and drones but Israel put the figure at around 150.

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Israel Intercepts Hezbollah Missiles, Bombs Southern Lebanon

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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah alleged that the group’s operation was calibrated to ensure it did not trigger a full-scale conflict.

Addressing Nasrallah and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's preemptive operation was "another step toward changing the situation in the north and returning our residents safely to their homes."

Hezbollah said its operation was “phase one” of its retaliation for the killing of Fuad Shukr, widely believe to be Hezbollah’s second-most powerful person. Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut on July 30.

Hours after Shukr’s assassination, the political leader of the EU- and U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas was killed in Tehran. Iran vowed to avenge Ismail Haniyeh and accused Israel of killing him. Israel has neither denied nor claimed responsibility.

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Israel And Hezbollah Edge Closer To Conflict Neither Side Desires

In his speech, Nasrallah said one reason why Hezbollah took nearly a month to hit Israel was because it was discussing with Iran and other allies about whether to carry out a coordinated attack on Israel or attack separately.

Pressure has been growing on Iran to deliver on its promised attack against Israel to avenge Haniyeh.

During a phone call on August 25 with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araqchi insisted that a “measured and well-calculated” response will come.

“We do not fear escalation, yet do not seek it -- unlike Israel,” Araqchi told his Italian counterpart.