Israel Fears Anti-Aircraft Missile Transfer to Hizbullah, Claims Iran Establishing Hizbullah Cells in Venezuela
The Israeli foreign ministry accused Iran of establishing Hizbullah cells in northern Venezuela and the country”s Margarita Island as the military said it was concerned that the Lebanese group would try to smuggle advanced anti-aircraft missiles into Lebanon.
According to a document leaked to the media, the ministry issued the accusation based on information from Israeli and foreign diplomatic, military and security sources.
The document also accused Venezuela and Bolivia of providing Iran with uranium in order to upgrade its nuclear program.
The release of the document came one week before Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon is due to travel to Honduras to attend the Organization of American States (OAS) general assembly in what the ministry said would be an opportunity "to challenge the penetration of Iran and Hizbullah into the region."
In its turn, Haaretz newspaper said Tuesday that Hizbullah could deploy SA-8 batteries which are a threat to Israeli jets overflying Lebanon.
"Israel has made it clear in past statements that it will consider such a development as crossing a red line, which might necessitate preventative measures," the daily said.
According to Haaretz, the Soviet-made missiles are part of Syria”s military arsenal, and Hizbullah fighters have received training on their use, inside Syrian territory.
It said Syria remains the main channel through which arms are transferred to Hizbullah, adding that almost a year ago, Israel relayed messages to both Damascus and Hizbullah, through several channels, warning that the Jewish state would consider launching air strikes against the convoys delivering the weapons, if they were brought into Lebanon.
"Then-prime minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak hinted publicly that these weapons would "upset the (existing) balance" and that Israel would not tolerate such a development," Haaretz added.
The Israeli daily said the past few weeks witnessed growing concern about the missile transfers in the wake of the June 7 Lebanese parliamentary elections in a show of force.
"The intelligence assessments regarding the missiles follow a long series of unusual developments in Lebanon that are contributing to rising tensions," including the discovery of Israeli spy rings, the Der Spiegel report on Hizbullah”s alleged involvement in the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, and the unsettled score for the killing of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh.