Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Naim Kassim, Beirut. Photo: Sebastian Beyruli.

Hezbollah has always proclaimed to be the vanguard of the “resistance” against Israel, while claiming to advance Lebanese national interests as its priority.

But the ongoing Syrian civil war has exposed the terrorist organization “to be nothing more than a mere tool of the mullahs in Tehran, promoting the lies of the ‘resistance’ while condemning all those who have refused to fall for this charade,” a column in the prominent London-based Asharq Al-Awsat says.

Opinion Editor Mshari Al-Zaydi says Hezbollah’s “resistance” slogan has been deceitful for “more than ten years” since the organization takes direct orders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Its blatant fighting on behalf of dictator Bashar al-Assad makes this clear.

If the Assad regime falls, Hezbollah suffers a severe setback to its influential position within Lebanon and the government. The organization also loses a strategic ally that has helped facilitate the transfer of weaponry and material from Iran.

As the European Union debates designating Hezbollah a terrorist organization in light of recent terror activity, including its direct involvement in last summer’s Bulgaria terrorist attack, Bahrain became the first Arab country to blacklist the group, as Sunni ruled countries are increasingly threatened by Hezbollah ‘s pro-Iranian activities in their countries.

Hezbollah critics used to face blowback that they were supporting Israel and America. But the Syrian conflict exposes that empty deflection, Al-Zaydi writes. By siding with the dictator, Hezbollah shows that it was using the “resistance” slogan for propaganda purposes to earn legitimacy within Lebanon and the Arab world. In reality, it acts along sectarian lines to advance Iran’s Shi’ite-based hegemonic endeavors that cost tens of thousands of Arab lives.