Hezbollah claims 'pinpoint' Iranian missiles added to its arsenal
The Lebanese Shiite militant group and close ally of Iran said it has received more advanced missiles, with greater range, as talks over Iran's nuclear program wind down in Vienna.
Hezbollah members at a march in Beirut earlier this month to commemorate Ashura, which commemorates the 7th Century Battle of Karbala, where Hussein, a grandson of Mohamed revered by Shiites, was killed.
Hussein Malla/AP
Beirut, Lebanon
On the eve of a deadline in nuclear talks between six world powers and Iran, Lebanon鈥檚 militant Shiite Hezbollah organization has revealed that it has acquired advanced Iranian missiles with 鈥減inpoint accuracy鈥� that it could use against Israel in any future war.
鈥淭hey [the Israelis] are well aware that Hezbollah is in possession of missiles with pinpoint accuracy, and thanks to the equipment Hezbollah acquired, and with the Islamic Republic鈥檚 support and Hezbollah鈥檚 readiness for any future war, [the next] war will be much tougher for the Israelis,鈥� Naim Qassem, the deputy head of Hezbollah, said in an interview with Iran鈥檚 Tasnim news agency.
Sheikh Qassem鈥檚 comments on Hezbollah鈥檚 enhanced missile capabilities and the threat they pose to Israel came amid waning hopes that a deal could be struck by a Monday deadline in Vienna between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council 鈥� Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany, the so-called P5+1. The six leading nations want Iran to curb its uranium enrichment capacity, which could be used to make nuclear weapons, in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions.
By late Sunday, negotiators were reportedly looking聽 for a way to extend the talks beyond the deadline.
Watching the Vienna talks closely from the sidelines is Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said he is concerned that any final deal between the P5+1 and Iran will be insufficient to curb what he says is Iran鈥檚 goal of building nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian use only.
In an Israeli cabinet meeting Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu said that Israel is delivering a 鈥渇irm stance鈥� to its allies in insisting that Iran should not be allowed to become a 鈥渘uclear threshold state鈥�.
鈥淭herefore, no deal would be preferable to a bad deal that threatens Israel, the Middle East and all of humanity,鈥� he said.
If there is no diplomatic breakthrough in Vienna, the drumbeat for military action against Iran will almost certainly be heard once more, raising tensions in a region already ravaged by conflict and radicalism.
Over the past decade, Iran has turned Hezbollah into a powerful military force with weapons capabilities unmatched by any other non-state actor. In May, a top Israeli army general said Hezbollah鈥檚 arsenal 鈥渨ould not shame any army in the world鈥�.
Iran鈥檚 considerable military and financial investment in Hezbollah is intended to bolster Iran鈥檚 deterrence against a possible attack on its nuclear facilities. If Israel chooses to bomb Iran鈥檚 nuclear plants, it must first assess the response of Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.
The stronger Hezbollah鈥檚 military capabilities, the greater the stakes for Israel in launching an attack on Iran. Twenty years ago, Hezbollah鈥檚 arsenal of unguided 12-mile range rockets allowed it to pepper parts of northern Israel only. Today, the missiles suspected to be in Hezbollah鈥檚 arsenal could slam half a tonne of high-grade explosive into specific targets in Tel Aviv, such as the Israeli defense ministry or Ben Gurion International Airport.
Two weeks ago, a senior officer in Iran鈥檚 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that Iran had provided Hezbollah with its indigenously produced Fateh A-110 short-range ballistic missiles.
鈥淐onsidering the range of their [Hezbollah鈥檚] missiles, they are able now to attack targets from southern to northern parts of the occupied territories [Israel],鈥� said Brigadier General Sayed Majid Moussavi, the IRGC鈥檚 air defense commander, according to a report by the Iranian Fars news agency.
The specific missile system to which Moussavi and Hezbollah鈥檚 Qassem referred is likely to be the 4th-generation version of the Fateh which has a range in excess of 186 miles and can carry a 1,430 pound warhead. Armed with that missile, Hezbollah could launch it from its camouflaged bases in southern Lebanon and hit Israel鈥檚 nuclear reactor at Dimona in southern Israel, 140 miles south of the border with Lebanon, achieving a degree of reciprocity for any Israeli air strike against Iran鈥檚 nuclear facilities.