Abul Geith Promises “Surprises” when Facts on Hizbullah Cell Are Disclosed
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Geith promised "big surprises" when facts about a Hizbullah cell will be disclosed by Egypt”s state prosecutor following completion of investigations.
He said the facts will "uncover the size of the conspiracy against Egypt."
In an interview with the daily Asharq al-Awsat published Tuesday, Abul Geith stressed that "Iran has been using Hizbullah for several years to carry out its objectives in the region."
"I am looking forward to the moment when I see the faces of all those who dictate (instructions) inside and outside Iran, inside and outside Egypt, to see how they are going to open their mouths in surprise when they read the report by the state prosecutor," he said.
Abul Geith said he was not surprised at Iran”s reaction "because Hizbullah has long ago revealed that it carries out Iran”s policy entirely."
He said the issue of the Hizbullah cell in Egypt has revealed "new dimensions," pointing to a desire by "Iran and its followers in the region to turn Egypt into a runner-up for Iran when it enters the Middle East."
"Egypt will not be a runner-up for anybody," Abul Geith stressed.
In an indirect reference to Hizbullah, the Egyptian FM believed the resistance should be present at the border "to fight the enemy, and not in alleys and hidden tunnels and the suburbs. This is not resistance."
Egyptian security forces were on Monday searching a mountainous region of the Sinai Peninsula for 13 men believed to be members of a Hizbullah cell.
Security officials in Egypt said the men”s names came up during interrogation of 49 suspects who have been arrested over the past five months and accused of plotting attacks on Israelis in the Sinai on behalf of Hizbullah.
They said among the wanted men were 10 Lebanese and 3 Palestinians whose names came up in questioning.
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that the original suspects” alleged ringleader, a Lebanese man identified as Sami Shehab, was a Hizbullah agent tasked with smuggling weapons to Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Police suspect the wanted men may be hiding in an inaccessible mountainous area near the town of Nakhl which is used by Bedouin drugs smugglers, officials said.