Iran: Hezbollah will defend us "easily" against Israeli attack
DUBAI |
(Reuters) - An aide to Iran's supreme leader said Israel's military threats had "put Israeli citizens one step away from the cemetery" and that Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was ready to hit back.
Yahya Rahim-Safavi, military adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the increasing threats from Israel to strike Iranian nuclear facilities were "foolish", the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported on Friday.
"The boldness and foolishness of Israeli officials in threatening the Islamic Republic, have put Israeli citizens one step away from the cemetery," he said.
"If, one day, the Israeli regime takes action against us, resistance groups, especially Hezbollah ... will respond more easily," said Safavi, a former commander in chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made increasing hints in recent weeks that Israel could strike Iran and has criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time.
The heightened rhetoric has stoked speculation that Israel may attack before U.S. elections in November.
Hezbollah has said any attack on Iran would be met by strikes against Israeli and U.S. targets in the region, even if American forces played no role in the attack.
"A decision has been taken to respond and the response will be very great," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a TV interview this month.
Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah, founded with Iranian help during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, has grown from a militia into a powerful political and military force. It fought a 34-day war with Israel six years ago in which 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 people in Israel, mostly soldiers, were killed.
(Writing by Zahra Hosseinian; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Iran’s Quds Force mission: Destroy the Jewish state
The Iranians are giving the U.S. and Israel the proverbial “raspberry” over nuclear weapons and terrorism support.
Credits: News with Views
Credits: News with Views
BY JIM KOURI
The ongoing series of terrorist attacks and attempted terrorist attacks in countries throughout the world in recent years is prima facie evidence that Israel is being singled out for total destruction using any means necessary by Iran’s global terrorism network. The Iranian government’s tool for the annihilation of the Jewish State is the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite unit the Quds Force, analysts at the Israeli terrorism think-tank the Meir Amit Information Center said.
The terrorist attacks are planned and directed by the Quds Force, while the Lebanese-based terrorist group Hezbollah carries out the actual attacks performing the function of the Quds Force’s main proxy-militia abroad.
“In our assessment, the terrorist attack targeting the bus of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria was carried out by Hezbollah as part of the Iranian campaign and from their point of view was the most successful to date. Five Israelis, the Bulgarian bus driver and the terrorist were killed and 36 Israeli tourists were wounded,” stated the Meir Amit analysts.
The Quds Force straddles the line separating a recognized nation’s military from a state-sponsored terrorist group.
Iran’s accelerated terrorist campaign during 2012, has several objectives. For example, Iranian leaders wish to counteract their almost paranoid fear of a covert campaign being conducted against it. Also, their goal is to exact revenge for the deaths of Iranian nuclear scientists and senior Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh, which Iran and Hezbollah attribute to Israel.
“Iran seeks to deter Israel from taking other action against it and to strengthen its position in the campaign against the United States and Israel. It also seeks to signal that it has the operational capabilities to respond strongly should it be attacked,” Meir Amit’s report states.
The Quds Force and Hezbollah have targeted Israeli diplomats posted to various countries, Israeli tourists and. in at least one instance, Jewish public figures in Azerbaijan.
In addition, the Quds Force has tried to carry out terrorist attacks against Saudi Arabian and Bahraini targets, the most conspicuous of which was the attempted assassination of the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States on American soil, the report states.
To date, attacks in the Iranian terrorist campaign against Israel (accelerating since May 2011) have been carried out in several countries, among them Bulgaria, Cyprus, Kenya, Azerbaijan, Indian, Georgia, Thailand and Turkey. Most of those attacks failed or were prevented by local security services who thwarted the Iranians and Hezbollah terrorists.
According to the Meir Amit report: “Iran has shown both daring and the determination to continue its efforts to attack Israeli targets despite a series of failures. The successful Hezbollah attack in Bulgaria, which ended the series of operational failures, is liable, in our assessment, to encourage Iran to continue and even intensify its terrorist campaign.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Iran has developed plans to disrupt international oil trade, including though attacks on oil platforms and tankers,” both inside and outside the Straits of Hormuz, in retaliation for international sanctions and other pressure exerted on it.”
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