Behind the scenes of Hassan Nasrallah's visit to Iran

With the ongoing state of escalation between Iran and Israel in conjunction with the ongoing negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement in Vienna and its failure so far to reach an agreement between Tehran and European countries, as well as Israeli pressure on Washington not to return to the nuclear agreement that it withdrew from in 2018, news has appeared that Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which is backed by the mullah regime, secretly visited Tehran to agree on a military strike against Israel in the event Tel Aviv attacks Iran's nuclear facilities.

Receiving instructions

This visit was only revealed by Israeli media, indicating that it took place in December 2021 and was at the invitation of the Iranian regime. The mullah regime is afraid of Israel attacking its nuclear facilities, which were exposed during the years 2020 and 2021 to a number of attacks and explosions, especially since, until that moment, the Vienna negotiations did not succeed either in concluding a new agreement between Iran and the West, or even reviving the old nuclear agreement through Washington's return to the agreement and the lifting of US economic sanctions imposed on Iran.

Although that visit was not publicly disclosed, the Times of Israel reported that Nasrallah told the Iranian regime that Hezbollah would not respond against Israel if it attacks Iran's nuclear facilities, for fear that Israel would respond and threaten Hezbollah, as Tel Aviv had previously attacked Hezbollah operational sites, whether in Syrian or Lebanese territory, the latest of which was an attack near the Syrian capital Damascus on February 16, 2022, targeting advanced weapons and missiles that were supposed to reach Hezbollah in Lebanon, prompting Nasrallah to threaten Israel and praise the capabilities of Iranian drones, saying, “Using the drones and Hezbollah's missiles simultaneously, these missiles will turn into high-precision missiles.”

At a time when news emerged of Nasrallah’s visit to Iran and an agreement on how to attack Israel if it attacked Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as the Hezbollah leader’s threats against Tel Aviv after the Damascus attack, Israeli media reported the success of the American forces on February 17 in shooting down two Iranian drones that were flying over Iraq.

Strong relationship between Hezbollah and mullah regime

Dr. Mohamed Ebadi, a researcher specializing in Iranian affairs, explained that the relationship between Nasrallah and the mullah regime does not require that the leader of Hezbollah pay a visit to Iran, which exposes him to danger, as Iran summoned him in order to give some instructions, even though modern means of communication suffice, especially since Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sees Nasrallah as a mainstay in Iran's project. Indeed, the Hezbollah leader is currently considered the number one man for Iran's strategy in the region after the assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

In an exclusive statement to the Reference, Ebadi pointed out that Mohammad Kawtharani, the senior Hezbollah leader responsible for the Iraq file, publicly met with current Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani in Iraq more than once during January 2022 in the context of resolving the intractable crisis between the Iraqi Shiite factions after the recent parliamentary elections in Iraq, and this was a favorable opportunity to convey sensitive messages between Iran and Hezbollah.