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Hezbollah’s Precision Strike Missile Program Is an Explosive Regional Threat
Yaakov Lappin
Algemeiner, Nov. 18, 2020The arrival of the first of four new German-made warships in Israel next month provides some clues about Hezbollah’s increasingly accurate firepower.One of the primary missions of the new Sa’ar 6-type Corvettes will be to protect offshore gas drilling rigs in Israel’s economic waters. According to Israeli navy officials, some 70% of Israel’s electricity consumption today is based on gas, meaning that if the natural gas rigs are shut down due to attack, Israel shuts down. Disruptions to the transfer of natural gas from the rigs to power production plants is therefore not something that Israel can afford.The new ships are equipped with advanced air defense systems and powerful radar, designed to detect and track a range of threats — including fast, low-flying cruise missiles, ballistic surface-to-sea missiles and rockets, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). All of these weapons are believed to already be in Hezbollah’s arsenal.
“We as a Navy cannot allow any missile, ballistic threat, cruise missile, or UAV to go through us and hit any gas rig. What we are doing is like building an iron wall in defense of the gas rigs,” one naval official said earlier in November.
Hezbollah is keen on building up capabilities that can target Israel’s Mediterranean energy resources, but that same firepower also can threaten land-based strategic targets.
Hezbollah’s inventory of approximately 150,000 projectiles includes some 200 long-range missiles and 3,500 medium-range rockets that can reach Tel Aviv. However, the difference between guided and unguided threats is very significant.
While Israel’s air defense layers can stop many projectile attacks, a barrage of guided missiles on strategic or critical sites would pose a significantly greater challenge to the country’s infrastructure, economy, or ability to defend itself (depending on the target).
According to some reports, Hezbollah is in possession of a supersonic Russian made anti-ship cruise missile, the Yakhont, having trafficked it from the Assad regime, likely with the assistance of the Iranian overseas special operations unit, the Quds Force. It also has an inventory of sub-sonic Chinese-made C-802 cruise missiles (used by Hezbollah in its 2006 conflict with Israel to strike an Israeli naval ship). If fired from the Lebanese coastline, such cruise missiles can theoretically be used to hit coastal targets in Israel, such as navy bases or civilian ports. The vast majority of Israel’s imports occur via sea lanes, underlining just how critical it is for Israel’s national security to keep the ports operational at all times.
Yet the biggest potential conventional threat comes from Iranian and Hezbollah intentions to set up domestic missile production sites inside Lebanon. These sites are designed to serially produce guided ballistic missiles, or to convert unguided rockets into precision guided missiles (PGMs). … [To read the full article, click the following LINK – Ed.]
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Hezbollah’s Vengeance Threat ‘Still Stands’ After Israeli Strike on Iranian Forces in Syria
Yaakov Lappin
JNS, Nov. 18, 2020
A threat by Hezbollah to revenge the death of one of its operatives, killed in July in an alleged Israeli airstrike, remains in place, though there has been no dramatic change in the dynamics on Israel’s northern front following a significant series of Israeli airstrikes overnight on Wednesday targeting Iranian forces, a senior security analyst told JNS.
Ely Karmon, a senior research scholar at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) in Herzliya, spoke hours after the Israel Defense Forces launched strikes on Iranian Quds Force targets in Syria and on military targets of the Bashar Assad regime, including surface-to-air missile batteries that fired on Israeli jets.
The Israeli strikes came after the IDF discovered improvised explosive devices planted on the Israeli side of the Alpha Line on the Golan Heights, which it said were placed by a Syrian attack squad operating under Iranian command.
“The response of the Israeli defense establishment is very natural,” said Karmon. “In past incidents of bomb attacks and intrusions, the IDF has responded with strikes. There has been no dramatic change.”
The recent escalation has not altered the promise by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to revenge the death of his soldier, which “apparently still stands,” stated Karmon.
The fact that a big section of the IDF has been on high alert on the two northern borders, Lebanon and Syria, for months since Hezbollah’s threats and so far failed attempts to exact revenge forms a “comfortable situation for Hezbollah,” said Karmon. “In addition to the nerves on the Israeli side, this alert costs a lot of money.”
The IDF said that in its overnight retaliation, aircraft hit storage facilities, headquarters and military compounds, as well as Syrian surface-to-air missile batteries. “The Assad regime does not control southern Syria,” insisted Karmon.
“Russia had promised that there would be no hostile forces within 80 kilometers of the border, but did not succeed in doing that. Yet apparently, it has reached the conclusion that it should give Israel a free hand. For many months, we have not heard any Russian responses [to reports of Israeli strikes], including serious attacks in the Damascus area,” he stated.
He added that “the Russian interest today runs parallel to the Israeli interest vis-à-vis the Iranians, who continue to be much more aggressive and who are trying to continue—unsuccessfully—to challenge Israel.”
‘A hole in the Iranian leadership’
After the U.S. drone strike assassination of Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani in January in Baghdad, his deputy, Esmail Ghaani, does not appear to have been able to formulate a new strategy that challenges the IDF, observed Karmon. “Today, we can say that the assassination created a hole in the Iranian leadership,” he said, describing it as a “strategic strike, perhaps much bigger than strikes on Iranian weapons transfers.”
In a media statement, the IDF said that the IEDs’ exposure on Tuesday “is further clear proof of the Iranian entrenchment in Syria. The IDF holds the Syrian regime responsible for all the actions perpetrated from its territory and will continue to operate as necessary against the Iranian entrenchment in Syria, which threatens regional stability.”
It also said that the military is on an elevated level of readiness and “is prepared for various scenarios.” … [To read the full article, click the following LINK – Ed.]
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Hezbollah Pushes Lebanon Toward Iranian Domination
Dr. Edy Cohen
Israel Hayom, Nov. 8, 2020
Lebanon is suffering the worst economic crisis in its history. It is locked in a horrendous spiral of inflation, unemployment, and recession. Suicides are rising among Lebanese citizens who are in despair over rampant famine, poverty, and hardship. Banks do not permit account holders to withdraw their money. Laws are enacted against Syria that indirectly affect Lebanon’s economic life. On top of all that, the presence in Lebanon of the Hezbollah terrorist organization has led to boycotts of the country by the US and the Gulf States and an economic blockade.
Hezbollah is the culprit behind Lebanon’s suffering and has been for more than 30 years. Hezbollah grows drugs for export to European countries. It bypasses the Lebanese establishment and pays no taxes. It operates sea and land crossings along the border with Syria. It receives goods from Iran, as well as money and weapons, that it does not report. Hezbollah not only does nothing to contribute to the Lebanese state but harms its foundations.
The greatest fear among Hezbollah’s senior officials is that the Lebanese people will once again take to the streets en masse, as they did earlier this year. This is why Hassan Nasrallah, the organization’s secretary general, occasionally tries to find ways to stabilize Lebanon’s dire economic and social situation.
Nasrallah is Lebanese, but his loyalty is to the Islamist regime in Iran, and part of his purpose is to render Lebanon completely dependent on the Islamic republic. This could be inferred from a speech he made recently to the Lebanese people in an ostensible attempt to assuage their anger over the economic crisis. In his opening words, he raised the possibility of turning to the Chinese for help – an idea most experts view as camouflage for his real intention, which is to turn to Iran. Nasrallah serves Ayatollah Khameini, not the Lebanese people, and he is doing his utmost to turn Lebanon into an Iranian province.
After raising the Chinese straw man, Nasrallah expanded on the great bounty Iran can offer and its allegedly benevolent intentions: “I have heard people say that Hezbollah wants to make Lebanon like Iran. … The Lebanese have a friend named Iran, and you can talk to them and say, ‘Sell us gasoline and oil for Lebanese pounds. Help us.’ They need dollars and euros. When an Iranian sells to a Lebanese for a Lebanese pound he makes a great sacrifice.
“Iran … has its own capacity in oil, fuel, electricity. Iran even sells to neighboring countries. It provides for most of its own needs. What is there to fear from this example? Lebanon has no such capabilities. For 40 years, Iran has persisted in the face of sanctions … In the face of all the difficulties they faced they survived. No country has stood so firm after undergoing what Iran went through … No one wants to change Lebanon economically or culturally, or change the Lebanese system of government. If China, Iran, or Russia is ready… we will talk to any country in the east, west, north, or south.” … [To read the full article, click the following LINK – Ed.]
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Is Hezbollah’s Ammonium Nitrate Linked To Plot Against Jews in Argentina?
Seth J. Frantzman
Jerusalem Post, Nov. 16, 2020
Argentina said over the weekend that it had increased security on its border with Paraguay due to an “anonymous tip” to authorities that was passed on via its embassy in the United Kingdom. There was a possibility of “bomb-making materials entering across Argentina’s northern border,” the report by Reuters noted.
The specifics of the case raise questions about the possible involvement of Hezbollah. The article noted on Saturday that the tip “warned of a person seeking to ship ammonium nitrate from Paraguay to Argentina.” The chemical would then be used to make a bomb to target a “Jewish objective.” The 1994 bomb against the AMIA Jewish Center, which killed 86 people in Buenos Aires, has been linked to Iran.
A 2006 report by Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman pointed to Iran and Hezbollah as likely behind the attack. Nisman was killed in 2015. Allegations of cover-ups and conspiracies have rocked the country since the bombing in the 1990s.
The Paraguay connection is interesting because it was believed that the 1994 attack may also have been linked to perpetrators who crossed over from Paraguay. The porous borders of the area where the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet have often been referenced by the US and other countries as a safe haven for Islamist extremist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
After the August blast in Beirut was caused by ammonium nitrate there were many reports about Hezbollah’s use of the chemical. Ammonium nitrate is a crystal-like chemical that is used for fertilizer and can also be used for explosives. Hezbollah has used it for explosives.
According to a US report in September, ammonium nitrate was linked to Hezbollah caches that moved through Greece, Italy and Spain. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies also warned about the threat of Hezbollah and its use of ammonium nitrate. US coordinator for counterterrorism within the State Department Nathan Sales highlighted the use of the chemical by Hezbollah. The chemical was also linked to a 2015 raid in London. Other chemicals were found in Cyprus. Hezbollah carried out a 2012 bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria, which killed several Israelis, with an ammonium nitrate-based device.
The same chemical keeps appearing in reports linked to Hezbollah. For instance in Germany, the Interior Ministry also mentioned seizing ammonium nitrate. Diplomatic cables also say Hezbollah tried to import the same chemicals from Syria to Lebanon. Hezbollah is keenly aware of the destructive power of the chemical, having threatened to target its storage in Israel.
According to reports, Buenos Aires has begun an investigation into the allegations that a terror attack may have been planned. The General Directorate of the International Coordination of the Argentine Federal Police was involved according to a report at i24. … [To read the full article, click the following LINK – Ed.]
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For Further Reference:
FBI Renews Activity on Forgotten ’94 Panama Plane Bombing: Todd Bensman, IPT News, Nov. 9, 2020 — For the first time in a quarter century, forward motion has been detected in the moribund investigation into one of the world’s most enduring, unsolved terrorist bombings: the 1994 downing of Panamanian airliner Alas Chiricanas Flight 901.
The IDF Tests Its New Victory Concept for Possible Hezbollah Conflict, Among Others: Yaakov Lappin, Algemeiner, Nov. 18, 2020 –– The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has tested out its new victory concept — based on the ability to use network-centered warfare techniques to rapidly detect and destroy enemy targets — in a recent war drill, an officer involved in the planning of the exercise told JNS in recent days.
Time for Europe to Come to Terms with Hezbollah and Iranian Terrorism: Siamak Kordestani, Jewish Journal, Nov. 10, 2020 — On a late Thursday evening in September 1992, in the Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, Germany, a small group of armed Iranian and Lebanese operatives burst into a Greek restaurant and fatally shot Sadegh Sharafkani, leader of the Iranian Democratic Party of Kurdistan, and three of his associates.
Israel, Gulf Allies to Join Forces Against Hezbollah: Ariel Kahana and Shahar Klaiman, Israel Hayom, Nov. 11, 2020 — Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates plan to jointly seek Hezbollah’s designation as a terrorist group by nations that have yet to do so, a senior Israeli official told Israel Hayom Thursday.
