War On Terror: As we ease sanctions on Tehran and worry about Israeli condos on the West Bank, Iran and Syria are helping Hezbollah import strategic weapons systems into Lebanon, targeting our closest Mideast ally.
Any move against Tehran's nuclear sites would be met by strikes against our Mideast interests not only from Iran, but from the territory of Lebanon, using that country as a launching pad and its people as human shields.
During that war, Hezbollah used weapons supplied by Iran and transported through Syria. Long-range rockets bombarded northern Israeli towns and villages, even reaching the Israeli port of Haifa. Since then, Hezbollah has replenished and expanded its stockpiles and is believed to have stored as many as 100,000 rockets and missiles of various types for a future offensive.
Through its creation of Hezbollah, Iran has transformed Lebanon into a satellite. Lebanese democracy is all but gone, with Hezbollah having obtained virtual veto power in the Lebanese Cabinet. Opposition to Syrian and Iranian influence has been dealt with by a campaign to decapitate the opposition's leadership.
Mohammed B. Chattah, a former Lebanese government finance minister and ambassador to the U.S., was among six victims killed and assumed to be the target of a bomb that detonated in Beirut recently. He was the latest pro-Western and pro-democracy Lebanese politician to be assassinated in a long campaign to eliminate opposition to Syria, Iran and Hezbollah's interference in and domination of Lebanon.
Tehran's use of Lebanon as a strategic base took a step forward, as the Wall Street Journal reports, with the news that long-range surface-to-surface missiles given to Hezbollah by its allies Iran and Syria have been disassembled and moved to Lebanon.
The Journal quotes a U.S. official as saying American intelligence analysts have also concluded Hezbollah members are smuggling components of advanced Russian-made anti-ship missile systems piecemeal into Lebanon from Syria to avoid an Israeli air campaign.
During that 2006 conflict, Hezbollah fired what was believed to be a Chinese-built CS-802 anti-ship missile that struck the Israeli corvette Hanit off the coast of Lebanon, killing four sailors and seriously damaging the sophisticated warship. Hezbollah is believed to have been assisted and trained by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
The missiles being moved, according to Ronen Bergman, an analyst with contacts among Israeli intelligence officials, include Scud D's, shorter-range Scud C's, medium-range Fateh rockets made in Iran, Fajr rockets and shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft weapons.
These missiles are relatively unsophisticated, and since 2006 Israel has deployed and tested in combat its Iron Dome missile defense system. In 2012, it shot down two Iranian-made rockets aimed at Tel Aviv by Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.
Israel remains concerned, however, that Hezbollah is looking for weapons systems such as P-800 Yakhont anti-ship missiles that can cover much of the eastern Mediterranean from Hezbollah bases in Lebanon. On July 5, Israel targeted some of the Yakhonts at a Syrian base outside the coastal city of Latakia.
The shipment of such sophisticated weapons would be a game-changer and sow the seeds for a wider and more deadly confrontation with Iran and Hezbollah. All the more reason for not easing up Iranian sanctions.
Peace in the Middle East is not their objective. The destruction of Israel by any means is.
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