Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, the man thought to be the leading candidate to succeed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visited the Lebanon-Israel border accompanied by Hezbollah fighters last month.
News of the visit was made public by Brig. Gen. (res.) Shimon Shapira, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs who previously served as the military secretary in the Prime Minister's Office.
In official photos taken of Raisi's visit to the border, the faces of the Hezbollah fighters were blurred.
Raisi, a member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, is just the latest senior Iranian figure to visit southern Lebanon following recent reports that Iraqi Shiite battalions under Iranian command have been deployed along the border with Israel.
While in Lebanon, Raisi met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, senior Hezbollah official Hashim Safi Al Din, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the chairman of Lebanon's Supreme Islamic Shia Council Abdel Amir Qabalan.
Raisi also visited the homes of Hezbollah's former military commanders Mustafa Badreddine and Imad Mughniyeh, both of whom were killed in Syria.
During his visit, Raisi proclaimed that "the liberation of Jerusalem is near" and praised Hezbollah's role as a movement that, he said, was dedicated to the creation of an Islamic culture in Lebanon.
Former U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser, senior diplomat and Council on Foreign Relations researcher Elliott Abrams also wrote an in-depth analysis of the visit and the threat posed by Iran to the region in an opinion piece in Israel Hayom on Tuesday.
According to Shapira, the publication of the images from Raisi's visit are meant to send the message that Iran is determined to strengthen Hezbollah's military capabilities and make it clear Tehran is not deterred by recent threats by Israeli officials. Shapira further said Raisi's visit was also aimed at enlisting support for Hezbollah among Lebanon's Shiite population ahead of this year's elections for Lebanon's parliament.
