Elimination of Ibrahim Aqil and Radwan Force Leaders

(New York, NY) – United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace released the following statement today following strikes against Hezbollah’s top military commander, Ibrahim Aqil, and 15 other senior leaders—including several elite Radwan Force senior officials—last week, while Aqil’s replacement, fellow ‘Jihad Council’ member and head of Hezbollah southern command, Ali Karaki, was also reportedly targeted in another strike earlier today: 

The Israeli Defense Force’s strike on Hezbollah’s senior leadership in Lebanon has eliminated some of the most dangerous terrorists within the Islamic Republic of Iran’s proxy network.  In particular, Ibrahim Aqil—the subject of a U.S. bounty of $7 million since 2023—was a mastermind behind the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut. More than 300 people, including 241 Americans, were killed in those attacks. 

Even prior to the September 20 strike, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah conceded his group had suffered an “unprecedented blow” in the wake of first pager, then walkie-talkie, detonations that killed dozens and wounded thousands of Hezbollah operatives. Following the strike and with reference to Aqil, Hezbollah further mourned the loss of a “great jihadist leader.” It is clear that through clandestine activities and strikes, Israel has begun to unravel Hezbollah’s capacity and confidence, significantly degrading the Iranian regime’s “jewel in the crown” of its wide terrorist proxy network.

Moreover, these measures against Hezbollah have already tangibly impacted its paymasters and patrons in Tehran, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps today announced a ban on the use of communications devices and electronic devices. 

Proactive measures to hit Iranian regime-backed networks where it hurts provides an example for U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic. For decades, policymakers have conventionally viewed and treated Iran’s proxy terror network as an irreversible reality that we must simply accept and tolerate. But the past few months have exposed major vulnerabilities across Tehran’s regional terrorist infrastructure. Rather than repeated calls for “de-escalation”—which simply ensures the unacceptable status quo of deadly Hezbollah missiles firing daily into Israel—it is imperative that the U.S. and its allies capitalize on this opportunity and use all means to further target the Iranian regime’s proxy terror network during Hezbollah’s moment of weakness and disarray.