Wafiq Safa (Arabic: وفيق صفا, born in 1960) is a Lebanese security official and a senior member of Hezbollah. As head of Hezbollah's Liaison and Coordination Unit since the late 1980s, reporting directly to the group's Secretary-General, Safa heads Hezbollah's security services and manages the group's relationships in Lebanese politics. He is sometimes referred to as the "Minister of Defense" or "Minister of the Interior" of Hezbollah.
Wafiq Safa | |
|---|---|
 Safa in 2023 | |
| Native name | وفيق صفا |
| Born | 1960 Nabatieh, Lebanon |
| Allegiance | Hezbollah |
| Unit | Liaison and Coordination Unit |
| Battles / wars | Lebanese Civil War |
Safa's loyalty to Lebanese Islamist leader Hussein Musawi led to his expulsion by Amal in the early 1980s. Safa was later a member of cell involved in facilitating the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings, alongside Ibrahim Aqil, before joining Hezbollah in 1984.
Early life and militant activity
Safa was born into a Shia Muslim family in Nabatieh, Lebanon, in 1960.[1] He was a follower of Lebanese Islamist leader Hussein Musawi. Safa's loyalty to Musawi led to his expulsion from Amal, the mainline Shia group in Lebanon, in the early 1980s.[2]
Safa was a member of the cell involved in facilitating the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings, alongside Ibrahim Aqil, Ali Majid, and Ali Fatuni. Ahead of the bombing, Safa requested 4,000 pounds of explosives from Lebanese and Palestinian suppliers. According to Israeli intelligence cited to the Washington Post, Safa tapped into explosives caches in Beirut belonging to forces loyal to Said al-Muragha.[2]
Hezbollah activity
In 1984, he joined Hezbollah and climbed the ranks within the organization.
In 1987, Secretary-General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah appointed Safa as the group's head of the "Security Committee," later renamed the "Liaison and Coordination Unit".[citation needed]
As head of Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit reporting directly to Nasrallah, Safa heads Hezbollah's security services and manages Hezbollah's relationships in Lebanese politics, including regularly meeting with President Michael Aoun and Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil. He is sometimes referred to as Hezbollah's Minister of Defense or "Minister of the Interior".[3][4][5]
Safa rose to prominence in the 1990s as Hezbollah's top negotiator on prisoners and hostages.[6] He secured a swap in 2008 in which Hezbollah returned the bodies of Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, killed in the 2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid.[3][7]
Ali Muntashe, an Israeli agent captured by Hezbollah on April 25, 2009, and handed over to Lebanese security forces for investigation, was accused of being tasked with providing detailed personal information about Safa during the years the organization held IDF soldiers as captives.
The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Safa in 2019, noting that in addition to his role heading Hezbollah's security apparatus, Safa smuggled contraband and facilitated travel for Hezbollah across Lebanon's ports of entry.[4]
In March 2024, Safa made the first public visit by a Hezbollah official to the UAE to negotiate the release of Lebanese citizens linked to Hezbollah detained in the UAE. The visit came amid the escalating Israel-Hezbollah conflict and warming relations between the UAE and Hezbollah.[3][4]
After Israel assassinated several top leaders of Hezbollah during the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war, including Hassan Nasrallah and Fuad Shukr, Safa was targeted in a 10 October airstrike in Bachoura, central Beirut.[6] Safa survived the airstrikes however it killed 22 other people.[8]
Controversy
In 2021, Safa threatened to "usurp" Tarek Bitar, the Lebanese judged charged with investigation into the 2020 Beirut explosion, which implicated allies of Hezbollah.[6][9]
On April 26, 2018, reports surfaced that Safa had been arrested on charges of embezzling $350 million, drug trafficking, and money laundering. Later, his family denied the reports, and the Al-Mayadeen network reported that "Safa denies the fact of his arrest."[10]
On April 18, 2020, a program aired on the "Al-Jadeed" television channel in Lebanon claiming that Safa owned 30 dunams of real estate registered in his name in the town of Nmairiyeh, and that he also held several commercial companies registered under his son's name. The report sparked an uproar on social media in the country, with users demanding explanations from Hezbollah regarding Safa's conduct.[10]
Amid investigations on the 2020 Beirut port explosion, Safa sent a threatening message to Judge Tarek Bitar through an anonymous journalist. The message stated, "We have had enough of you; we will go to the end of the legal path, and if that does not work, we will remove you by force."[11]
References
- ^ "What secrets did a senior Hezbollah official tell Iranian media?". Jerusalem Post. 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ a b "Beirut Bombing: Mysterious Death Warriors Traced to Syria, Iran". Washington Post. 1984-02-01. Archived from the original on 2022-03-20. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Farhat, Beatrice (2024-03-20). "What's behind Hezbollah's Wafiq Safa rare UAE visit?". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2024-03-26. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "22 killed in deadliest strike in central Beirut since start of war". Washington Post. 2024-10-10. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Nziv (2018-04-25). "דיווחים סותרים אודות מעצר בכיר ביותר בחיזבאללה באשמת מעילה". Nziv.net (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ a b c "Hezbollah spymaster Wafic Safa reportedly target of Israeli bombings in Beirut". National News. 2024-10-10. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- ^ "השחיתות של בכיר חזבאללה ופיק צפא".
- ^ "Israeli Strikes Kill 22 in Beirut as Hezbollah's Wafiq Safa Evades Assassination". english.aawsat.com. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
- ^ Qiblawi, Tamara (2021-09-23). "Hezbollah threatened top judge probing Beirut port blast, source says". CNN. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ a b NOWLEBANON (2023-06-07). "The Beirut Port: Hezbollah's Gateway to Corruption". Nowlebanon. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
- ^ "Who is out to get the judge in charge of Lebanon port explosion probe?". France 24. 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2024-10-29.