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Iranian media outlet Nour News highlighted the Defense Council as an important body in shaping Iran’s strategy after the Israel-Iran War. Nour News is affiliated with Supreme Leader Adviser to the Defense Council Ali Shamkhani. The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) established the Defense Council on August 3 to streamline wartime decision-making after the Israel-Iran War and justified its formation by citing fragmentation and lack of coordination among Iranian institutions. Nour News published a video on September 9 in which it described the Israel-Iran War as a turning point that demonstrated how global security is no longer guaranteed by international law. It claimed that international institutions tasked with preserving peace “proved powerless,” and that law has effectively been replaced by power. Nour News described this as a global transition from “law-based security” to “weapon-based security.” The outlet stated that the formation of the Defense Council was a structural response to the shift to weapon-based security and that it is more than an administrative initiative. Nour News previously framed the Defense Council as responsible for executing a new Iranian defense doctrine against “hybrid threats.”
The United States and other foreign countries have taken steps to provide Lebanon with economic and military support. The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on September 10 that it will send a $14.2 million military aid package to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). The aid package will include a range of military equipment, including demolition charges, time blasting fuses, and blasting caps, to help the LAF dismantle unexploded ordnances and Hezbollah weapons caches. The US DoD stated that the package will empower the LAF to “degrade Hezbollah.” Lebanese officials met with French Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian on September 11 to discuss providing the LAF with unspecified support to implement its disarmament plan. Drian reaffirmed that France would support the LAF, help with Lebanon’s reconstruction, and stimulate international investment in Lebanon. France will also continue its work to organize two international conferences aimed at acquiring support for the LAF and increasing economic investments in Lebanon.
Economic support for the Lebanese government would undermine Hezbollah’s ability to build support among the Lebanese population by giving the government the ability to provide services that it has been unable to provide previously. Hezbollah previously led reconstruction efforts and provided a social safety net for the Lebanese population after the 2006 war, but Hezbollah has recently struggled to access funds to pay for the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure following the conflict with Israel in late 2024. Hezbollah has also struggled to maintain its financial commitments to fighters, which has contributed to growing frustration among Hezbollah supporters. Hezbollah has historically used financial benefits, including pensions for the families of deceased fighters and compensation to those who lost their homes or property, to retain its support base among Lebanese Shia.
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