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Democracy’s tail winds in Lebanon

The assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday achieved a strategic objective Israel had sought for nearly two decades. It diminishes at least temporarily the threat to Israel’s existence posed by Iran and its militant proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, and Gaza.

Yet the real basis of Israel’s security and regional stability may rest on a different development. Well before Mr. Nasrallah’s demise, the persistent democratic aspirations of Arab and Iranian citizens posed a growing challenge to the theology he and his patrons in Tehran have promoted.

“Tehran’s pursuits and policies in the region are not ones that citizens throughout the region view positively,” observed Arab Barometer in July, based on its latest regional survey of Arab opinion. Across the Middle East, it found, few respondents agreed that “It is good for the Arab region that Hezbollah is getting involved in regional politics.”

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