Iran’s Lebanese-proxy Hezbollah does not expect its arch-enemy Israel to launch a war against it for now but is prepared for one if Jerusalem decides to invade Lebanon. “I clearly express the view of Hezbollah that it is ready to confront the aggression if it happens, if Israel decides to carry out any foolish action. But it does not appear that the circumstances are for an Israeli decision for war,” Hezbollah’s Deputy leader Naim Qassem said.
The deputy leader of the Shi’ite militia, Sheikh Naim Qassem also noted that there is no indication that the Syria war, which enters its eighth year, will end any time soon – assessing that the battles against Islamist organizations battling the Assad regime would persist for at least two more years. That said, the Hezbollah deputy leader emphasized that Damascus will emerge victorious, underlining his organization’s position – in which there was no solution for the conflict without President Bashar Assad. “There is no solution in Syria under the title of ‘excluding President Assad’. On the contrary, the solution in Syria is with President Assad, and he is the mandatory channel for the solution,” Hezbollah’s Deputy leader Naim Qassem said.
The heavily armed Hezbollah joined the war in support of Assad in 2012 and has played a critical part in securing the defeat of Sunni rebels backed by the United States and its regional allies – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.
Hezbollah has spearheaded a coalition of Tehran-backed Shi’ite militias that have deployed to Syria from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Iran’s expanding power in Syria has caused deep alarm in neighboring Israel, which perceives the Islamic Republic as the most significant threat to its national security. In an effort to thwart Tehran’s military entrenchment in Syria, as well as the transfer of sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah, Israel has mounted numerous air strikes against what it described as Hezbollah and Iranian targets. Nevertheless, the Israeli attacks have only slowed Iran’s ambitions, with Qassem claiming Israel only has a limited ability to attack the war-torn-country. “An Israeli assault on Syria is possible in limited attacks and the Syrian response is also possible to these attacks,” Qassem said.
Reports in Lebanon have indicated an already growing number of missiles upgraded with guiding system components in Hezbollah’s vast arsenal of about 100,000, which will pose a significant challenge to Israel’s military in a next viable conflagration. Nevertheless, Israeli officials have warned that in a next war with Lebanon, the IDF will apply more power than the Iranian-backed group has every experienced, to assure a swift and decisive victory.