ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Shiite leaders and political factions on Sunday commemorated the second anniversary of the death of Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, issuing statements vowing to carry on his legacy.
Nasrallah was killed in September 2024 by Israeli precision-guided airstrikes targeting Hezbollah’s underground command headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Qais al-Khazali, head of the Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and a key member of Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, said in a statement that his movement would “renew” its “pledge of allegiance” to the slain Hezbollah leader.
“We will remain steadfastly marching in defense of this honorable path, ever faithful to every drop of blood shed along the road of dignity and the persistence of resistance [Axis of Resistance],” read the statement.
The Tehran-led Axis of Resistance comprises predominantly Shiite armed factions spanning Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. While the regional coalition saw major shifts in its operational posture following intense Israeli military campaigns across the region, member groups have remained steadfast political and ideological allies of Tehran.
Meanwhile, the AAH-affiliated al-Ahad TV reported that an official delegation from the Iraqi armed faction traveled to Lebanon to participate in commemoration ceremonies honoring Nasrallah.
Abu Alaa al-Walai, leader of Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), declared on Sunday that Nasrallah’s legacy and vision remain alive as long as the resistance movement endures.
Walai said in a statement that Nasrallah would only truly die if fighters "no longer hear in the south the chant: 'Humiliation, far be it from us!'" or if "the mujahideen and their families accept normalization and negotiations."
He added that true defeat would only occur if fighters in Gaza and Lebanon make peace with Israel, if Yemen’s Houthis compromise with Saudi Arabia, or if Iraqi armed factions compromise with the United States.
Walai’s KSS operates under the umbrella of the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), a coalition that has claimed responsibility for hundreds of drone and missile attacks targeting US forces and regional assets.
The commemorative rhetoric from Iraqi armed factions underscores the ongoing ideological alignment among regional non-state actors, even as Iraqi authorities push forward with efforts to regulate various paramilitary umbrella groups within state security structures.
In addition to factional and militia leaders, Iraqi state officials also marked the anniversary of Nasrallah’s assassination.
Qasim al-Araji, National Security Advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, commemorated the late Hezbollah leader, praising “his journey and its defining stances and sacrifices, which left an enduring mark on the hearts of his admirers.”
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also released a statement, writing that the slain Hezbollah leader’s memory “will remain a testament that the blood of the free is a path to victory, and a gateway to honor and dignity.”
