Iran is the world' chief state sponsor of terror. [1] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continuously calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. [2] The Lebanon-based militant group and political party, Hezbollah, maintains close ties with the Iranian Islamist regime.
The Iranians formulate many foreign- and security-related policies through overlapping structures of institutional and non-institutional military and political actors. [3] Iran therefore implements its financial, military and ideological support for Hezbollah through senior clerics, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security (MOIS). [4]
Iranian financial and military support for Hezbollah dates back to 1982. Iran's interest in Hezbollah derives from religious, ideological and humanitarian reasons. [5] Currently, Hezbollah receives approximately $100 million annually in financial support and constant arms shipments from Iran via Syria. [6] According to Israeli military officials, Hezbollah is in possession of more than 20,000 Iranian supplied short-range missiles. [7]
While the U.S. State Department categorizes Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, [8] according to Iranian Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi: "Hezbollah is a legal group which was created to fight Israel…and is a defense organization which was established in order to defend Lebanese people and land." [9]
Examples of the Iran-Hezbollah Alliance:
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Hezbollah recognizes the spiritual authority of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, as evidenced in its charter and in pictures of the Ayatollah displayed on the walls of Hezbollah offices and waved at Hezbollah protests.
[10]
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According to American policy analysts, Iran views Hezbollah as an instrument through which to export its Islamist revolution and combat the perceived threat posed to Iranian national interests by the U.S. and Israel.
[11]
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Hezbollah acts as an Iranian military proxy by maintaining a "strategic stronghold"
[12] on the Lebanese-Israeli border and conducting operations in the U.S, Europe and Latin America.
[13]
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The MOIS significantly influences the policies and actions of Hezbollah's security and special overseas operations, such as its attacks against U.S targets.
[14]
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MOIS officers work with Hezbollah militants in the field and use the Iranian embassy in Beirut as a command and control center.
[15]
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Hezbollah directly coordinates and communicates with Iran through Hezbollah militants working at the Iranian embassy in Beirut.
[16]
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Many of Hezbollah's elite militants attend an intensive training course on interrogation tactics in Tehran conducted by MOIS at the Imam Jaafar Sadegh Intelligence Academy intended to be used on captured Israeli soldiers and in intelligence operations.
[17]
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The IRGC provides Hezbollah's forces with most of their arms and training.
[18]
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According to U.S. officials, Iranian technical advisors train Hezbollah militants in Lebanon in the operation of unmanned aircraft, anti-tank and anti-ship missiles.
[19]
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During Israel's defensive war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 (also known as the Second Lebanon War), papers found on the bodies of dead militants identified them as part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
[20]
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About 100 Iranian advisors are located in Lebanon and are training and supporting Hezbollah militants.
[21]
Implications of the Alliance:
American counterterrorism officials believe Hezbollah may prove more difficult to contain than al-Qaeda because of its close relationship with Iran. These officials say Iran may use Hezbollah militarily if its conflict with the U.S. over its nuclear program is not resolved peacefully. According to a retired covert U.S. intelligence official who spent years in the region, "If Iran turns Hezbollah loose on the U.S. and Western Europe, they'd make al-Qaeda look like a bunch of high-school kids." [22]
Footnotes:
[1] O'Toole, Pam, "Rice: Iran is terrorism 'banker'," BBC, Feb. 17, 2006, accessed July 7, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4722498.stm
[2] Young, Sean, "Ahmadinejad: Destroy Israel, end crisis," The Washington Post, Aug. 3, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR2006080300629.html
[3] Haahr, Kathryn, "Iran's Changing Relationship with Hezbollah," The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor, Vol. 2, Issue 19, Oct. 2004, http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2368658
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Vardi, Nathan, "Hezbollah's hoard," Forbes, Vol. 178, Issue 3, Aug. 2006, http://members.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0814/046.html
[7] Shannon, Elaine, "Iran and Syria helping Hizballah rearm," TIME, Nov. 24, 2006, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1562890,00.html
[8] U.S. Department of State, "Chapter 6: Terrorist Groups," http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/45323.pdf
[9] Haahr, Kathryn, "Iran's Changing Relationship with Hezbollah," The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor, Vol. 2, Issue 19, Oct. 2004, http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2368658
[10] Menashri, David, "Iran's Regional Policy: Between Radicalism and Pragmatism," Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 60, Issue 2, Spring/Summer 2007.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] "U.S. targets Hezbollah funds," Wall Street Journal, Apr. 24, 2006, Pg. A4.
[14] Haahr, Kathryn, "Iran's Changing Relationship with Hezbollah," The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor, Vol. 2, Issue 19, Oct. 2004, http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2368658
[15] Shannon, Elaine, "Iran and Syria helping Hizballah rearm," TIME, Nov. 24, 2006, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1562890,00.html
[16] Ibid.
[17] Haahr, Kathryn, "Iran's Changing Relationship with Hezbollah," The Jamestown Foundation, Terrorism Monitor, Vol. 2, Issue 19, Oct. 2004, http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2368658
[18] Ibid.
[19] "The Iranian Threat," Aviation Week & Space Technology, Vol. 165, Issue 7, Aug. 14, 2006, p20.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] "U.S. targets Hezbollah funds," Wall Street Journal, Apr. 24, 2006, Pg. A4.
