Hanin Ghaddar is the Friedmann Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute's Rubin Family Arab Politics Program, where she focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant.
Articles & Testimony
The prime minister's move was only a temporary setback for Tehran and its chief proxy, whose foothold in Lebanon and the wider Middle East is strong enough to withstand Saudi pressure for the foreseeable future.
Earlier this month, while Arab League foreign ministers gathered in Cairo for an emergency meeting called by Saudi Arabia to declare Hizballah a "terrorist organization," Qassem Soleimani, leader of the Iranian Quds Force, was declaring victory in Syria. In a video released immediately after the Cairo meeting, Soleimani is seen crossing the Iraqi-Syrian border into Bou Kamal in Deir al-Zour province, marking a milestone for Iran's power in the Middle East. The two events highlight the geopolitical context in which Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's recent resignation took place. The unfolding political crisis in Lebanon will be part of this new era of dominance by Iran and its proxy, Hizballah...
