Iran Massively Rearming Hezbollah in Violation of UN Security Council Resolution

by Diana Gregor

A "steady flow of arms shipments including thousand of Iranian-made rockets" has permitted Hezbollah to rearm after the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. [1] UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah, banned all unauthorized weapons between the Litani River and the Blue Line, the UN-monitored border between Israel and Lebanon. [2] This arms embargo was never enforced along the border between Lebanon and Syria. [3] According to Western officials and Hezbollah itself, the Shiite Muslim organization has rearmed and is stronger than before the conflict with Israel. [4]

Hezbollah is closely allied with, and often directed by, Iran, but has the capability and willingness to act independently. [5]

Hezbollah receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria. It is thought that Iran provides financial assistance and military assistance worth between $25-50 million. According to reports released in February 2010, Hezbollah received $400 million dollars from Iran following a visit by Ahmadinejad's advisor Mehrdad Bazrpash to Lebanon. [6]

In July 2009, UN peace keeping chief Alain Le Roy said there were signs that an illegal weapons stockpile which had exploded in Lebanon belonged to Hezbollah: "A number of indications suggest that the depot belonged to Hezbollah, and, in contrast to previous discoveries by UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces of weapons and ammunition, that it was not abandoned but, rather, actively remained." He stressed that the presence of such weapons represented a "serious violation of resolution 1701." [7]
 
In November 2009, Israel seized a ship carrying hundreds of tons of Iranian-supplied weapons to Hezbollah. Hezbollah denied any connection to the shipment. [8]

German Police suspects Hezbollah of using drug trafficking in Europe to fund parts of its activities. According to a report, Hezbollah members were selling cocaine in Europe and sending the profits back to Lebanon. [9]

Magnus Ranstorp, terrorist expert at Sweden's National Defense University, said: "Hezbollah has stretched, facilitated by Iran, across the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and Latin America. It grants Iran global power and Hezbollah has become susceptible to Iran's efforts to project its influence." [10]

Hezbollah was established in Lebanon by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1982. In 1982, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps sent a contingent of some 2,000 men to Lebanon to aid the war against Israel. [11] In its founding statement, Hezbollah declared itself committed to the "creation of an Islamic republic in Lebanon." Tehran sent hundreds of clerics and Revolutionary Guards to Lebanon to preach Iranian theology and draft recruits. [12] Hezbollah's fundamental goal in Lebanon is the "establishment of an Islamic state that provides political expression to the Shiite majority and a complete Iranian takeover of Lebanon". [13] Iran-backed Hezbollah is the strongest member of Lebanon's pro-Syrian opposition bloc. [14]

According to analysts, Iran has "taken control over the Lebanese militia". [15] According to experts Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson, Hezbollah is one of the best-equipped and most capable militant groups in the world. [16] According to Lebanese defense sources, Hezbollah now has between 40.000 and 50.000 rockets, including long-range missiles. [17] Hezbollah's weapons stockpile is more than double its supply before the war with Israel in 2006. [18]

In December 2009, Iran's Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said that Iran supports Hezbollah and Hamas. "The Islamic Republic of Iran does not conceal its support for Hamas and Hezbollah and we openly declare that we support them," Larijani said. [19] In February 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged Hezbollah to "get rid" of Israel once and for all if a war breaks out. [20]

On February 25, 2010, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, met with his closest allies, the presidents of Syria and Iran, in Damascus. Nasrallah normally only appears on video screens and is rarely seen in public but came out of hiding for his meeting with President Bashar Assad and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. [21]
References:

[1] McGregor-Wood, Simon: "Missiles on Menu as Hezbollah, Iran and Syria Dine," ABC News Online, February 26, 2010, http://abcnews.go.com/International/nasrallah-dines-assad-ahmadinejad-damascus/story?id=9953472

[2] Charbonneau, Louis: "U.N. found Hezbollah arms pits in Lebanon: Israel," Reuters, Janaury 7, 2010, http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6065PQ20100107

[3] Harel, Amos, Issacharoff, Avi: "Iran using Hezbollah as diversion from nukes," Haaretz, February 24, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1151926.html

[4] Rotella, Sebastian: "Hezbollah's stockpile bigger, deadlier," Los Angeles Times, May 4, 2008, http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/04/world/fg-hezbollah4

[5] http://globasecurity.org/

[6] "Hezbollah receives $400 million from Iran," Green Voice of Freedom, February 27, 2010, http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2010/feb/25/1289

[7] Charbonneau, Louis: "Illegal Lebanon arms may have been Hezbollah's - UN," Reuters, July 24, 2009, http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN24434325

[8] Charbonneau, Louis: "U.N. found Hezbollah arms pits in Lebanon: Israel," Reuters, Janaury 7, 2010, http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6065PQ20100107

[9] Uni, Assaf: "Hezbollah funded by drug trde in Europe," Haaretz, January 9, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1141351.html

[10] McElroy, Damien: "Iran election: Tehran backs Hizbollah operations around world," The Telegraph, June 26, 2009,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5651837/Iran-election-Tehran-backs-Hizbollah-operations-around-world.html

[11] "Who are Hamas," BBC Online, October 19, 2000, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/978626.stm

[12] Maddox, Bronwen; Blanford, Nicholas; Farrell, Stephen; Parker, Ned: "Hezbollah is fighting to the death, but who is it?," Times, July 21, 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article690694.ece

[13] Shapira, Shimon; Minzili, Yair: "Hizbullah's Struggle to Change the Lebanese Regime," JCPA; May-June 2009, http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/index.asp

[14] "Who are Hezbollah?," BBC Online, May 21, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4314423.stm

[15] Pfeffer, Anshel: "Top IDF officer: Iran has taken over Hezbollah," Haaretz, January 29, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1115401.html

[16] Simon, Steven; Stevenson, Jonathan: "Disarming Hezbollah," Foreign Affairs, January 11, 2010, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/65921/steven-simon-and-jonathan-stevenson/disarming-hezbollah

[17] McGregor-Wood, Simon: "Missiles on Menu as Hezbollah, Iran and Syria Dine," ABC News Online, February 26, 2010, http://abcnews.go.com/International/nasrallah-dines-assad-ahmadinejad-damascus/story?id=9953472

[18] Rotella, Sebastian: "Hezbollah's stockpile bigger, deadlier," Los Angeles Times, May 4, 2008, http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/04/world/fg-hezbollah4

[19] "Iran supports Hezbollah, Hamas – Ali Larijani," Trend AZ, December 4, 2009, http://en.trend.az/regions/iran/1593341.html

[20] "Iran, Hezbollah Leaders Meet in Syria," Voice of America, February 26, 2010, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2010/02/mil-100226-voa04.htm

[21] McGregor-Wood, Simon: "Missiles on Menu as Hezbollah, Iran and Syria Dine," ABC News Online, February 26, 2010, http://abcnews.go.com/International/nasrallah-dines-assad-ahmadinejad-damascus/story?id=9953472

Diana Gregor
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the author

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