Iran Getting More Involved in Hizbullah Operations to Fill the Gap
Iran is increasing its involvement and control of Hizbullah”s operations since military commander Imad Mughniyeh was killed a year ago, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Thursday.
It quoted senior Israeli defense officials as saying that Mughniyeh”s assassination in a Damascus car bombing in February last year left a large gap in the party”s leadership, adding that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah "is now stuck dealing with operational matters he never handled in the past."
"Hizbullah has not yet found someone of similar stature to replace Mughniyeh. Therefore, the Iranians have taken some responsibility for Hizbullah operations, using a large number of Iranian Revolutionary Guard and intelligence officers in Lebanon," the newspaper said.
"This means operational cooperation between Iran, Syria and Hizbullah has increased regarding all potential actions against Israel. Iranian officers, most of whom prefer to be based in Syria, often visit Lebanon and tour the Israeli border," the daily added.
The Iranians are directly involved in running Hizbullah operations in southern Lebanon, and hundreds of the Shiite group”s fighters travel to Iran every month for training, according to Haaretz.
About last Saturday”s rocket attack from southern Lebanon, Haaretz said the rocket that struck a western Galilee village was most likely fired by the extremist Sunni organization Osbat al-Ansar.
The organization considers Hizbullah a major rival, and Saturday”s rockets were fired without the Shiite group”s approval, the daily said.
However, it said Hizbullah gave its approval for the firing of rockets on northern Israel by Ahmed Jibril”s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command during the Jewish state”s offensive on the Gaza Strip last month.
Haaretz said Israel sent a severe warning to the Lebanese government via UNIFIL and foreign diplomats after last Saturday”s incident.
The Jewish state reportedly informed the Lebanese government that it expects the army and the cabinet to take action against Osbat al-Ansar the same way they dealt with Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp almost two years ago.