Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Kassem told the British newspaper the Guardian that the group is rearming in the wake of the Second Lebanon War and is prepared for another war this summer.

"We are prepared for the possibility of another adventure or the demand of American policy that might push the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] in that direction," said Kassem in an interview published Wednesday.

The United States, France and Great Britain are pushing for a special United Nations expert committee to examine ongoing weapons smuggling to Hezbollah across the Lebanon-Syria border.

	Advertisement

The push apparently came in the wake of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's visit to the region, after which he briefed the UN Security Council on the smuggling.

Ban said that he "received information from Israel and other countries" that included evidence of arms smuggling from Syria and Iran to Hezbollah, calling it a "blatant violation" of Security Council resolutions - including the resolution that led to a cease-fire in the Second Lebanon War.

That resolution calls for all Lebanese groups do disarm, with the exception of the Lebanese army.

According to the Guardian, Kassem accused Washington of waging a covert war against the militant group by arming anti-Hezbollah militias and seeking to undermine the Lebanese army.

"Dick Cheney [US vice president] has given orders for a covert war against Hezbollah...there is now an American program that is using Lebanon to further its goals in the region," Kassem told the Guardian in a safe house in Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.

According to the Guardian, the accusation follows reports that the CIA has been authorized to take covert "non-lethal" action against Hezbollah as part of wider strategy to prevent the spread of Iranian influence in the region.

But Kassem accused the Lebanese government of arming groups across the country. "This happens with the knowledge of the prime minister and is facilitated by the security forces under his command," Kassem told the Guardian.

Kassem rejected accusations that Hezbollah is seeking to undermine the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, claiming Washington had scuppered attempts by the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah-led opposition to reach a compromise. "We think that if it wasn't for America's interference, we would have resolved the issue of participating in the government a long time ago," he told the Guardian.

"America is forcing the government forces to prolong this crisis, because they want a price for it," said Kassem. "They want to tie Lebanon into negotiations that benefit Israel and their plan for a new Middle East."

Related Articles