Iran running out of options after the assassination of its ally in Lebanon

From our special correspondent in Beirut

For Tehran, Nasrallah’s death is a very severe blow to its influence in the Middle East. Hezbollah was the jewel in the Iranian crown that Tehran had patiently built over the past forty years to confront – indirectly and without exposing itself – its Israeli and American enemies.

In Iranian security doctrine, Hezbollah and its 140,000 missiles were its ultimate deterrent against the Jewish state. A first line of defense which allowed him to be stationed on the northern border of Israel, from southern Lebanon, without being present on the ground. But the gradual destruction over the past year of the military apparatus of the Lebanese Shiite militia – 50% of its capabilities have been wiped out, according to Israel – coupled with the double decapitation of its military and political branch – has completely reshuffled the cards. Hezbollah protected Iran. Today, it is Iran that must protect Hezbollah…