Just over
eight months since the Second Lebanon war ended, Hezbollah leaders
are already renewing their sabre rattling rhetoric against Israel.
Senior political advisor to Hezbollah chief Sheikh
Hassan Nasrallah, Hussein Halil
said in an interview to the London based A- Shark al-Awsat,
newspaper last Monday, that his group was already sufficiently
armed to confront Israeli aggression. Only last week, Hezbollah's
deputy secretary Sheikh Naim Kassem hinted
to the London based Guardian newspaper that Hezbollah
is preparing for the possibility of another "adventure"
with Israel by coming summer.
Both men should know what they are talking about.
Since last September, soon after the UN brokered cease fire,
Iran has restarted its non-stop weapons deliveries to Hezbollah.
In clear defiance of UN resolution 1701, which prohibits arms
smuggling from Syria into Lebanon, or for that matter through
any other way, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
has been busy delivering the latest weapons arsenal from Tehran's
military hardware coffers. Even UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon expressed concern during his latest visit to
Lebanon. Following his Middle East tour briefing, the UN Security
Council is considering to form a special investigation team,
probing implementation of its resolution on Lebanon. Sources
in New York said the secretary-general informed the Security
Council that he had obtained evidence from Israel and from "another
country" indicating that Syria and Iran were indeed smuggling
arms into Lebanon.
Officials warned that Hezbollah has regained most
of its strength since the last summer with Israel and
that the rate of weapons smuggling has nearly doubled
over the past few weeks.
According to Israeli intelligence officials, Iran and Syria,
who have recently signed a mutual defense pact, have been smuggling
mass quantities of high quality weaponry to Hezbollah
in Lebanon. Officials warned that Hezbollah has regained
most of its strength since the last summer with Israel and that
the rate of weapons smuggling has nearly doubled over the past
few weeks. Those sources disclose that advanced Iranian-Chinese
missiles have already been smuggled into Lebanon. Among these
are allegedly Iranian Sayyad (U.S. Hawk derivative),
Misagh 2 (derivative of the Russian SA-18
Igla) and Shahab Tagheb (Chinese HQ-7 derivative)
air defense missiles. These missiles could seriously restrict
the Israeli Air Force’s tactical freedom over Lebanon's
airspace. Should new confrontation break out, Israeli pilots
will have to fly into a high-risk combat zone, in which a relatively
modern air defense network will pose considerable danger to
them.
During
Last summer's air war, the air force operated virtually without
opposition from the ground. Although, the Iranian missiles are
not of latest state-of-the-art technologies, they nevertheless
pose a threat to be reckoned with. To stress this point: Iranian
Misagh-2 man-portable infrared guided anti-aircraft
missiles were found after a failed attempt to shoot down a plane
at Baghdad's airport in 2004. Furthermore, disclosure of the
Iranian provision of anti-aircraft missiles came officially
from US military sources, as no less than six
U.S. helicopters have been shot down by insurgents in the
past months alone.
Unconfirmed reports, from sources close to IDF intelligence,
indicated that this week, Hezbollah had officially
formed its new air defense wing, for which several hundred graduates
had just ended their training in Iran, learning how to use air
defense missiles in combat. According to these reports, a group
of specially selected Hezbollah trainees were flown
from Damascus to Tehran early March to start a six week training
session held by Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)
instructors at the Imam Ali base.
Meanwhile the war of words is already intensifying. Syrian
Information Minister Muhsen Bilal warned earlier
this week, that armed resistance will be the only way to liberate
the Golan Heights. It seems that the Syrian leadership may have
misjudged Israel's military performance during the last Lebanon
conflict and is therefore more prone to test its own power in
restoring the Golan. As for Hezbollah's determination
to attempt another round with Israel: Although last August's
cease-fire has deployed the Lebanese Army and a reinforced UNIFIL
along the international border, it is highly questionable whether
these forced will be able to prevent renewed fighting, once
one of the belligerents decides to attack. Past experience in
this volatile region has demonstrated that neither UNIFIL nor
a UN Multinational force could present an effective barrier
to a determined force. For example: In June 1967 the UN withdrew
from Sinai, following Egyptian President Abdul Nasser's
request, which opened the Six Day War. A similar situation happened,
when the IDF invaded Lebanon to fight the PLO warlords in June
1982, by rolling right over UNIFIL troops.
According to Israel intelligence reports, Hezbollah
has sofar not attempted to rebuild its fortification line along
the border. However, intensive construction work is already
going on north of the Litani River line, in which Hezbollah
is rebuilding its fortifications and new missile sites. Should
fighting resume, the IDF will have to confront a powerful enemy,
prepared to fight with determination. Moreover, next time, Israel
may well confront hostile action on two, if not three fronts,
Hezbollah to the North, Syria East of the Golan Heights
and a much more powerful Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A major element
in preparing Hezbollah and Hamas for war, is the IRGC's
"Quds Force".
According to an extensive report by the Israeli Intelligence
and Terrorism Information Center, the activity of the
Quds Force is focused in three main arenas in the Middle
East: Lebanon , among Palestinians, and Iraq. At the same time,
Iran continues setting up sleeper cells throughout the world
which will be activated when Iran feels the time has come, independently
and in collaboration with Hezbollah:
The
Quds (Jerusalem) Force is one of five branches of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the strongest military-security
body in the country and the clerical regime's main support.
The Quds Force is an elite unit estimated at several
thousand members. Established at the beginning of the Nineties
to export the revolution beyond the borders of Iran it became
a highly secret Iranian apparatus working clandestine beyond
its borders. Since March 1998 the Quds Force has been
commanded by Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani.
Lebanon is considered the finest example of Quds
Force "success" and is used as the front line in the
campaign against Israel . The Force operates in Lebanon through
local headquarters nicknamed "the Lebanese corps."
Every activity undertaken by the Quds Force in Lebanon
is coordinated with the Syrian regime, and Syria serves as the
conduit through which weapons are shipped from Iran to Lebanon
. The Quds Force gave Hezbollah massive active
support during the second Lebanon war (July-August 2006) and
was integrated into the organization's command structure. After
the war it performed a significant role in rehabilitating Hezbollah's
military might, one of whose manifestations was the smuggling
of weapons from Iran to Lebanon
The Quds Force plays a central role in the training
received by Hezbollah operatives in camps in Iran ,
using bases and facilities belonging to the Revolutionary Guards.
The training is intended to raise the Hezbollah operatives'
military level and to teach them to use the modern weapons Iran
provides them with. Revolutionary Guards also train Hezbollah
operatives in Lebanon , especially at bases and facilities in
the Beqa'a Valley/.
Hezbollah operatives undergo various types of training
in Iran , from integrated maneuvers to launching anti-tank
and anti-aircraft weapons, including Sagger and TOW missiles.
Special attention is given to training Hezbollah operatives
in the use of strategic and advanced weapons, such as ground-to-ground
rockets with a range of more than 75 km (46.4 miles) and unmanned
planes. Revolutionary Guards officers helped Hezbollah
launch an Iranian-made unmanned plane into Israel in November
2004.
The two main camps used most often by the Quds Force
for the training of foreign terrorist-operatives are the Imam
Ali camp in Tehran and the camp at Bahonar near Karaj , north
of Tehran. Two Hezbollah guerillas who were captured
by the IDF during the second Lebanon war stated during interrogation
that they had been trained by Revolutionary Guards operatives
at the camp near Karaj . One of these was Hussein Ali
Suleima, who was involved in the abducting of the two
IDF soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud
Goldwasser, the act which led to the outbreak of the
war. Suleima stated that he had been trained in Iran by the
IRGC as part of a group of 40-50 Hezbollah operatives
from Lebanon. Their passports were not stamped in either Syria
or Iran to hide the fact that they had undergone training in
Iran.
The Quds Force operates an extensive network that
uses the facilities of Iranian embassies or cultural and economic
missions or a number of religious institutions such as the Islamic
Communications and Culture Organisation to recruit radical Islamists
in Muslim countries. Lately, the Quds Force started
to encourage Muslim candidates even in western countries. After
going through preliminary training and security checks in those
countries, the recruits are then sent to Iran via third countries
and end up in one of the Quds Force training camps.
A special branch inside Iran’s Foreign Ministry is responsible
for assisting the Quds Force in bringing in foreign
recruits. The recruits first travel to third countries where
they are given new passports by Iranian agents to facilitate
their entry into Iran. Upon finishing their training course,
the new agents leave Iran for third countries from where they
use their genuine passports to return to their countries of
origin or where missions are planned.
Last Tuesday, Shin Bet (general security service)
officials revealed to the press that Iranian intelligence officers
are trying to recruit Israelis seeking entry permits to Iran
at their Istanbul consulate. Permit applicants undergo extensive
questioning in which Iranian officials test their political
stance and other criteria. Over the past two years, officials
said, the Iran's security services have made at least 10 attempts
to recruit Israeli citizens of Persian descent visiting their
relatives in Iran, Shin Bet sources said. By law, Iran is not
defined an enemy state and Israeli citizens are permitted to
travel there. Since Iran does not allow anyone into the country
whose passport bears an Israeli entrance stamp, Israelis who
want to travel to Iran must pass through the Iranian Consulate
in Turkey, where they are issued special documents that allows
them into to Iran, or alternatively - take out an Iranian passport.
Therefore, Israelis, traveling to Iran, wishing to visit relatives,
approached the Iranian Consulate General in Istanbul, Turkey,
asking for permission to visit Iran. Iran is not considered
an enemy country according to Israeli law, and therefore it
is not illegal for Israelis to visit there. The Shin Bet said
two Iranian agents posing as consular staff have been targeting
Israelis of Iranian descent as potential spies. Israel intelligence
identified the two Iranian agents by their nicknames Zainali
and Abdallah.
In Lebanon itself Hezbollah has established at least
six major training bases and weapons depots, the majority located
in the Bekka valley. Until the Syrian withdrawal these had been
under the supervision and protection of the Syrian Army in Lebanon
and run by Iranian IRGC instructors and logistical experts.
According to intelligence reports (not updated after September
2006) the location of these bases are:
Ain Bourday Base (South of Baalbek): training camp for general
guerilla warfare.
Nabi Sheet Base : training camp for general guerilla warfare.
BaaIbek Homs Road Base: train General Guerilla warfare .
Wadi Firsan Base (in the Hermel, Bekaa Valley): Main activities
taught at this base are guerilla warfare, survival warfare,
long range patrols, observations techniques, anti-tank and
anti-aircraft weapon techniques and so on. Missiles and chemical
weaponry smuggled before the war from Iraq to Syria are believed
to be buried and hidden around this base.
Wadi Al Yammouneh Base: This terrorist Base is located between
the Bekaa Valley and the upper mountains of Jbeil. Activities
are Guerilla warfare, anti tank and anti aircraft weapons,
and other terrorist skills.
Nabeh El Assi Base (EL ASSI RIVER) located near Hermel,
in the Bekaa Valley
Many of these bases became targets for Israeli air force and
special forces attack during the 2006 Second Lebanon War and
it is unknown if an how much these bases have been restored,
or re-located. According to unconfirmed intelligence reports,
Hezbollah has constructed underground storage bases
for new weapons received via Syria, in caves and earth bunkers
in the mountain region of eastern Lebanon.
Stumble It!
During
Last summer's air war, the air force operated virtually without
opposition from the ground. Although, the Iranian missiles are
not of latest state-of-the-art technologies, they nevertheless
pose a threat to be reckoned with. To stress this point: Iranian
Misagh-2 man-portable infrared guided anti-aircraft
missiles were found after a failed attempt to shoot down a plane
at Baghdad's airport in 2004. Furthermore, disclosure of the
Iranian provision of anti-aircraft missiles came officially
from US military sources, as no less than 
The
Quds (Jerusalem) Force is one of five branches of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the strongest military-security
body in the country and the clerical regime's main support.
The Quds Force is an elite unit estimated at several
thousand members. Established at the beginning of the Nineties
to export the revolution beyond the borders of Iran it became
a highly secret Iranian apparatus working clandestine beyond
its borders. Since March 1998 the Quds Force has been
commanded by Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani.