People watch Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as he appears on a screen during a live broadcast on May 25. Photo by Hassan Abdallah/Reuters The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tweeted out a video on Aug. 29 highlighting the Iranian commanders behind arming Hezbollah with missiles in Lebanon.
The video names the commanders as Brig. Gen. Muhammad Hussein-Zada Hejazi, Col. Majid Nuab and Brig. Gen. Ali Asrar Nuruzi, all of whom serve in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.
“Hezbollah is coming dangerously close to possessing precision-guided missiles and becoming the first terror group in the world armed with these lethal capabilities,” the video states, adding that the Iranian generals are heading the operation so Hezbollah can “attack Israel. Iran and Israel don’t share a border so Iran came to a country that does.”
The video adds that Iran and Hezbollah have established sites to build the missiles throughout civilian areas in Lebanon so they can use the civilians “as human shields while preparing to attack the people of Israel.”
The IDF warns that Hezbollah will be able to “attack any target of their choice” if they obtain precision-guided missiles and pledged that they will not let the Shia terror group acquire such weaponry.
https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1167067046179430400
The Times of Israel reports that Iran had initially been transporting precision-guided missiles to Hezbollah from 2013-14, only to have Israeli airstrikes largely thwart their efforts. Iran and Hezbollah changed their strategy in 2016 to instead focus on providing Hezbollah with the capability to convert regular missiles into precision-guided missiles.
“We will not stand to the side and allow our enemies to acquire deadly weapons to use against us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “This week, I already told our enemies to be careful with their actions. Now I am telling them: Dir balak [watch out].”
The IDF’s video comes amidst high tensions between Israel and Hezbollah; over the weekend, Israel targeted Hezbollah in strikes toward Lebanon and Syria, where Hezbollah members were residing at an Iranian base. Hezbollah struck down an Israeli drone on Aug. 28 that they claim entered their airspace; Israel’s concern over a retaliatory strike from Hezbollah has prompted the IDF to reportedly replace soldiers along the Israel-Lebanon border with mannequins.
Hezbollah currently has more than 130,000 rockets and missiles at its disposal, according to the Jerusalem Post.
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