TruthNews

Israel Releases Intelligence on Iran’s Control of Hizbullah

International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 8 July 2010

Israeli military officials decided to take the risk and go public this week with vital intelligence on Iran's control over Hizbullah positions and capabilities in south Lebanon both to deter the Shi’ite militia and to prepare world opinion in anticipation of renewed conflict along the border.

Among the sensitive information which the IDF declassified and showed journalists on Wednesday was the name of the senior member of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who has been dispatched to Lebanon to assume command of all Hizbullah forces there. Hossein Mahadavi was exposed as the "commander of Iran’s overseas division," meaning Hizbullah.

His arrival came after Hizbullah’s top military commander, Imad Mughniyeh, was assassinated in Damascus in 2008, leaving a vacuum that Iran wanted to fill itself, according to Israeli intelligence estimates. In addition, Iran relieved Hizbullah leader sheikh Hassan Nasrallah of any decision-making power over major military operations against Israel after he recklessly started a war in summer 2006 with a cross-border attack that left eight IDF soldiers dead and two abducted.

The data on Iran’s "comprehensive and significant" control over Hizbullah and its positions in south Lebanon included classified photographs showing a unit of 90 Hizbullah militants storing weapons close to hospitals and schools in the village of al-Khiam. Other aerial images highlighted the group's activities in towns and villages along the Israeli border "Every day they are engaged in digging, building, and laying communications infrastructure to prepare themselves for war," said IDF Col. Ronen Marley.

The deployment of UNIFIL peacekeeping forces in rural areas has forced Hizbullah to redeploy its personnel and military stores into built-up towns where the UN troops are reluctant to venture, especially after being recently attacked by local villagers. The IDF believes Hizbullah has an arsenal of 40,000 rockets stored in towns and villages south of the Litani River, with many of the weapons stored in private houses.

Hizbullah has 20,000 armed men, a third of which have undergone combat training in Iran. Every Shi'ite village has a detachment of between 30 and 200 fighters, the IDF claimed.

The IDF's decision to declassify the photos, charts and other documents carries an element of risk, as Hizbullah may now use it to alter its positions and plan surprises. However, the move sends a clear message to Hizbullah about IDF capabilities, enhancing deterrence, according to Israeli military analysts. In addition, a senior IDF officer said "the world needs to understand that Hizbullah is deliberately positioning its military positions inside civilian centers, and that this strategy has consequences." The IDF has said it will respond disproportionately to any new Hizbullah attack, and that each of the 160 villages in southern Lebanon containing Hizbullah positions will be targeted.