Region | Lebanon
Hezbollah is ready for new Israeli attacks
Group acquires new weapons with longer ranges and heavier warheads after 2006 war with Tel Aviv's army.
- By David Blair, The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2008
- Published: 21:09 August 2, 2008
Tyre: Hezbollah has built up its military arsenal significantly on the Israeli border and is ready for a new conflict if provoked, for example by an American strike on Iran.
The political and military group's senior commander in southern Lebanon told The Daily Telegraph in a rare interview that Hezbollah was far stronger now than when it fought the Israeli army in 2006.
Shaikh Nabeel Kaouk, who leads Hezbollah's forces on Lebanon's border with Israel - the crucial battlefront of any future war - was speaking in the port city of Tyre.
"The resistance is now stronger than before and this keeps the option of war awake. If we were weak, Israel would not hesitate to start another war," he said.
"We are stronger than before and when Hezbollah is strong, our strength stops Israel from starting a new war... We don't seek war, but we must be ready."
Hezbollah, whose missiles killed 43 Israeli civilians during the war of 2006, is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and Britain.
Supply lines
Other sources say Hezbollah has trebled its arsenal in the last two years - from 10,000 missiles to about 30,000.
These new weapons have longer ranges and heavier warheads. They include the Zelzal missile, which could strike as far south as Tel Aviv, and the C802 anti-shipping missile, capable of sinking Israeli warships.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's overall leader, started the 2006 conflict with the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers whose bodies were returned recently to Israel.
Kaouk did not deny that Hezbollah was reliant on Iran for military hardware and support. "We are proud of our friendship with Iran and with Syria and every country which helps us to gain our rights," he said.
His remarks will be closely examined in Washington as Iran presses ahead with its nuclear programme.
Iran is currently weighing its response to the West's latest offer of incentives to suspend the enrichment of uranium but has signalled, for now, it will not change its stance.
Asked where Hezbollah's weapons came from, Kaouk said: "All parties in Lebanon are getting weapons. No one asks from where."
Iran is Hezbollah's supplier and paymaster. Tehran's regime and Hezbollah are fellow Shiite and their alliance is a crucial power factor in the Middle East. Iran delivers the missiles to southern Lebanon through Syria.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah fighters travel to Iran for military training. If the US attacked Iran's nuclear facilities, Hezbollah could retaliate by firing its missiles into Israel.
Hence Iran possesses a vital interest in building this arsenal. Asked how Hezbollah would respond to an attack on Iran, Kaouk replied: "I doubt that Israel will attack Iran because they know the consequences."
Kaouk said the 2006 war, which claimed 1,100 Lebanese lives, had been a success. "Israel didn't achieve any of its goals. The known goal of Israel is 'death to Hezbollah'. Hezbollah is still here."
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