Iran Is Preparing To Fill Power Vacuum In Lebanon

Iran watcher Shayan Ghajar has been analyzing public statements by Iranian officials and concluded that Iran is behaving in a way that it is preparing to fill Lebanon’s power Vacuum. Here’s one example:

Jazayeri is Deputy Head of Iran’s Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, and usually speaks out on topics pertaining only to the Iranian military’s foreign policy concerns. On January 17, Jazayeri made an unusual public statement about Lebanon’s situation, claiming the United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon constituted a “psychological operations war” against Lebanon, spearheaded by the United States and Israel. According to Brig. General Jazayeri, however, “The U.S. is aware that it cannot rival the heroic Hezbollah.” […]

Jazayeri’s statement was noteworthy in both its tone and openness about Iran’s relationship to Lebanon. The rhetoric Jazayeri used is a common feature in Iranian domestic politics when the government seeks to marginalize internal dissent by linking opposition groups to the West–in other words, the Iranian Deputy Joint Chief spoke of Lebanon in terminology implicitly treating Lebanon as a part of Iran, and Hezbollah as the sedition-crushing elements of the IRGC.

There’s a lot more in the complete piece. Make sure you read it.