Hezbollah & Iran: A Convergence of Interests

Hezbollah & Iran:  A Convergence of Interests, thanks to Insights Into Today's Middle East

Iran backed Hezbollah in EuropeIran backed Hezbollah in South America
A civil war guided by Iranian interests
Iran backed Hezbollah in Europe
Iran backed Hezbollah in South America
Facts about Hezbollah

Iran backed Hezbollah gunmen seized nearly all Muslim sectors of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on Friday in the country's worst clashes since the 15-year civil war. At least 11 people have been killed and more than 20 wounded in three days of street battles. [1]

A civil war guided by Iranian interests

· “For the past months, the Head of the Iranian revolution, the Iranian president and the Iranian vice-president have been saying that Lebanon is a land where imperialism and Zionism need to be defeated,” said Antoine Basbous, political analyst in an interview on Friday. “This country has been designated as the scene of operations, a land of Jihad.” [2]

· “The Iranians through their Syrian portals have invested 30 billion dollars to turn Hezbollah into Iran’s military branch in the Mediterranean. […] The Shia movement has 40,000 to 50,000 missiles, good military training, social and sanitary structures and an Iranian-modeled society. Among the Shia civilians, more are dressing like Iranians and repeating the same slogans.” [3]

· After the 2006 war with Israel Hezbollah has been rearming itself and has increased its capacities using the Syrian passage. “Hezbollah has become a key player in the region. It is taking power today by turning Lebanon into a second Gaza, a center of regional confrontation at Damascus’ and Tehran’s disposal,” Basbous said. [4]

· The Lebanese Sunni Grand Mufti, Muhammad Rashid Qabbani, said that with these recent attacks Iran was threatening the union of the Muslims in Lebanon. He called Hezbollah "an armed gang of unlawful" which have carried out "ugly attacks" against the citizens of Lebanon. Shiite clerics however defended Tehran and accused the Lebanese government for the escalation. [5]

Iran backed Hezbollah in Europe

· Hezbollah is also active in Europe and poised to launch bloody reprisals in Britain for any Western attack on Iran, Richard Kemp, a former British intelligence chief, warned in November 2007. Kemp said the Iranian-backed group had established sleeper cells in London to carry out revenge attacks. He said: “The big question is how capable Hezbollah groups are in Europe. What I can say is that Hezbollah is probably the world’s most effective terrorist organisation, and that includes Al Qaeda.” [6]

· Hezbollah arrived in the European Union in the 1980s, along with refugees from the civil war in Lebanon. In the 80s and 90s, Hezbollah kidnapped more than 80 Westerners and killed hundreds of people in Lebanon, Israel, Europe and South America in terrorist attacks. Despite its deadly track record and a 2005 European Parliament resolution recommending the banning of the Iranian-funded group, it is still legal on the Continent. In Germany alone there are 900 Hezbollah supporters known to security authorities. [7]

France, Spain, Belgium and Sweden are preventing the EU from jointly designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. [8]

Iran backed Hezbollah in South America

• Hezbollah has taken root in South America, fostering a well-financed force of Islamist radicals boiling with hatred for the United States and ready to die to prove it, according to militia members, U.S. officials, and police agencies across the continent. From its Western base in the Tri-border Area, or Triple Frontier, a remote region that borders Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, Hezbollah has mined the frustrations of many Muslims among about 25,000 Arab residents whose families immigrated largely from Lebanon. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Tri-border has become a top-level, particularly as tension mounts with Iran, Hezbollah’s main sponsor. [9]

• On July 18, 1994 Argentina faced it’s deadliest terrorist attack when the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires (AMIA, Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina) was targetted. The blast reduced the community centre to rubble, killing 85 and wounding more than 200. Argentinian prosecutors allege Iranian officials orchestrated the bombing and entrusted the Lebanon-based Hezbollah to carry it out. Among the wanted by Argentina are former Iranian intelligence chief Ali Fallahian, former leader of the elite Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezaei, and Hezbollah militant Imad Moughnieh, one of the world’s most sought terror suspects. [10] In late 2006, an Argentinean special prosecutor released a detailed report on the AMIA bombing, issuing arrest warrants for high-level Iranian officials and Hezbollah members involved in the attack. The Argentinean investigation concluded that Tehran transferred at least $152,812 to accounts controlled by Mohsen Rabbani, a Shiite cleric who at the time held diplomatic immunity as a cultural attache at the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires. [11]

• Operating out of the Tri-border Area, Hezbollah is accused of killing more than 100 people in attacks in nearby Buenos Aires during the early 1990s in operations personally masterminded by Moughnieh. [12]

• The Iranian president asked his interlocutor to send his regards to Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and the organization's membership. [13]

Facts about Hezbollah

· Hezbollah—or “Party of God”—emerged in Lebanon in 1982 and became the region’s leading radical Islamic movement, determined to drive Israeli troops from Lebanon. Hezbollah now serves as an inspiration to Palestinian factions fighting to liberate occupied territory.

· Hezbollah was established by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. In its early days, Hezbollah had a contingent of some 2,000 men sent to Lebanon in 1982 to aid the resistance against Israel. [14] Inspired by the success of the Iranian Revolution, party leaders also dreamt of transforming Lebanon’s multi-confessional state into an Iranian-style Islamic state.

· Hezbollah receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria. Published reports that say Iran provides hundreds million dollars of aid annually are probably exaggerated. Iran probably provides financial assistance and military assistance worth about $25-50 million. Hezbollah is closely allied with, and often directed by, Iran, but has the capability and willingness to act independently. [15]

• Underscoring the heightened sense of Iran as a dangerous player, on July 18, 2006, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair accused Iran of supporting Hezbollah with weapons, “very similar if not identical to those used against British troops in Basra” in Iraq. Blair also accused Syria of supporting Iran “in many different ways” and both countries of providing financial support. Israel, the United States, the Europeans, and many Arab states have long claimed that Hezbollah receives its weaponry from Iran, a claim that many Iranian officials admit in private is true. [16]

• Senior Hezbollah official Kassam Allaik said Iran had its own groups in Lebanon, rebuilding bridges, roads, and mosques. Lebanon’s Finance Minister Jihad Azour also acknowledged that Iranian money is going directly to Hezbollah. Allaik, head of Hezbollah’s construction arm, Jihad Construction, has admitted that Iran is providing funds directly to Hezbollah to help the reconstruction effort. [17]

• Senior terror leaders in Gaza, including militants from Palestinian Authority President Abbas's Fatah party, admitted they are working to copy Hezbollah warfare tactics: “We are turning Gaza into south Lebanon,” Abu Ahmed, northern Gaza leader for the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group, said. He also said: “We are importing rockets and the knowledge to launch them and we are also making many plans for battle." [18]

• Ahmed added: “We have warm relations with Hezbollah, which helps with some of the training programs…We don’t have anything to be ashamed of—that we are dealing with Hezbollah and that we are receiving training and information from them.” [19]

_______________________________________________________________________

References:

[1] « Hezbollah gunmen seize control of Beirut neighborhoods," by Bassem Mroue, Associated Press, 9 May 2008.

[2 ] «Une guerre civile atroce et cruelle se dessine» au Liban, Libération, 9 May 2008,

[3]Ibid.

[4]Ibid.

[5] « Eskalation im Libanon. Die Hizbullah kämpft für ihr Telefonnetz » by Rainer Hermann, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 9 May 2008, No. 108, S. 6

[6] Groves, Jason : « Hezbollah will avenge Iran strike », Daily Express, 25 novembre 2007

[7] "Die etwas andere Partei," by Alexander Ritzmann, Financial Times Deutschland, 4 May 2007

[8] Ibd.

[9] Gato, Pablo; Windrem, Robert: « Hezbollah builds a Western base,” Telemundo/Msnbc.com, May 9, 2007

 

[10]Gato, Pablo, Windrem, Robert : « Hezbollah builds a Western base », Telemundo/Msnbc.com, 9 mai 2007

[11] Keaten, Jamey : « Iran role in Argentina bombing examined », Associated Press, 5 novembre 2007

[12] Levitt, Matthew ; Lipton, Jake : « Dangerous Partners: Targeting the Iran-Hizballah Alliance », Policy Watch, No. 1267, 31 juillet 2007.

[13] Ibid

[14] Westcott, Kathryn : « Who are Hamas », BBC News, 19 octobre 2000

[15]GlobalSecurity.org

[16]Sciolino, Elaine : « Iran backs Hezbollah in Lebanon », International Herald Tribune, 19 juillet 2006

 

[17]Whittington, James : « Iran "sending funds to Hezbollah" », BBC News, 2 novembre 2006

[18]Klein, Aaron : « Hamas training in Iran, Lebanon », WorldNetDaily, 2 janvier 2007

[19] Ibid

Comments

[JustaDog]

And just think, Barack Obama has their endorsement.

[Debbie]

JustaDog: Good point. I forgot about that. He accepted their endorsement also.

Wait, that was HAMAS. Oh well, they are the same, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, ...

[Mystical Time Traveler]

Ok either you've been reading my mind or my blog. For the last 2 days I've posted the following analysis:

Has Hezbollah Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew? http://findalismonkeyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2008/05/has-hezbollah-bitten-off-more-than-it.html
and

Lebanon is now in Hezbollah Hands.
http://findalismonkeyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2008/05/lebanon-is-now-in-hezbollah-hands.html

Both posts dealing with a Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah.

The outlook is grim. Iran will openly supply Hezbollah with weapons and use Lebanon as a staging base for an attack on Israel.

[Skunkfeathers]

Yep: Barack Obama -- if elected president -- will sit down and talk with Hezbollah, as if they're just and deserving of recognition.

The American Left is friggin' nuts.

[Always On Watch]

In my view, Obama's candidacy is emboldening terrorists in the Middle East. They're flexing their muscles in a show of force which denigrates GWB's foreign policy in the hopes of shooing in a Dem administration here in the States.

[Jack]

The question is whether anyone will do anything about Lebanon or will they just sit back and watch.

[Pauli Ojala]

You might be interested on the "Sins of the fathers" in the Bush family. Prescott Bush and his father-in-law George Herbert Walker were running the slave coal mines that needed Jewish and other camp laborers in Poland. Bush continued his business transactions with Fritz "I Paid Hitler -author" Thyssen even after US had been in war with the Nazi Germany already for a year.
http://www.helsinki.fi/~pjojala/Bushism_sins_of_the_fathers.htm

I think GW Bush was repenting over the sins of his fathers during his era. But "Thou Shall Not Take the Name of the Lord in Vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless whosoever uses His name in vain", said the decalog, Ten Commandments to the hypocrite fake believers. Not to your own ends. I pray for the Republican quasi-royal families, I wish them all good. An analogous process of blood money laundring was going on in the richest family of the "impartial" Sweden, the Wallenberg's. They invested in the Nazi's during the hyperinflation at the 1920's, when money from abroad determined who's gonna get the power. SA was a private and PAID army with its 350,000 x2 arms. They were no boy scouts but demanded money. Four times larger private army than the Wehrmacht field army of Germany!

A longer version in English with Scientific backround of Western race hygiene in general (first a scanned text from a classic volume of professor Daniel Gasman, then my own 50 page research with 100 references):
http://www.helsinki.fi/~pjojala/Gasman.htm

Recovering from hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of the brain,
Pauli.Ojala@gmail.com, evolutionary critic
Helsinki, Finland
Biochemist, drop-out (MSci-Master of Sciing)