Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Israel's Peretz: Hezbollah is Iran's Vanguard
Israel's offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon aims to pre-empt a perceived strategic threat by the group's Iranian patrons, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said on Wednesday.
"Hezbollah is Iran's advance commando unit. In effect, it is the Iranian vanguard," Peretz said in a televised address to Israeli troops.
"Had these events happened a year from now, and were combined with a (Iranian) nuclear threat that would already be in the works, the state of Israel would have found itself in a much more complex situation," he said.
Iran says it only provides moral support to Hezbollah, rejecting Israeli accusations it arms the Shi'ite group.
The U.N. Security Council demanded on Monday that Iran suspend uranium enrichment activities by the end of August or face the threat of sanctions.
Iran, which denies Western charges it is developing nuclear warheads, insists it has the right to produce nuclear fuel for the peaceful production of electricity.
Israel's offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon aims to pre-empt a perceived strategic threat by the group's Iranian patrons, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said on Wednesday.
"Hezbollah is Iran's advance commando unit. In effect, it is the Iranian vanguard," Peretz said in a televised address to Israeli troops.
"Had these events happened a year from now, and were combined with a (Iranian) nuclear threat that would already be in the works, the state of Israel would have found itself in a much more complex situation," he said.
Iran says it only provides moral support to Hezbollah, rejecting Israeli accusations it arms the Shi'ite group.
The U.N. Security Council demanded on Monday that Iran suspend uranium enrichment activities by the end of August or face the threat of sanctions.
Iran, which denies Western charges it is developing nuclear warheads, insists it has the right to produce nuclear fuel for the peaceful production of electricity.
