Sources: Hariri murder tribunal could derail Israel-Syria talks

Peace talks between Israel and Syria and the thawing of U.S.-Syria relations could be derailed if a landmark international tribunal calls senior Syrian officials suspected in the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, sources in Washington and New York told TIME magazine on Sunday.

Hariri was assassinated along with 22 others in a suicide bombing in February 2005.

According to TIME, Syria, which politically controlled Lebanon at the time of Hariri's death, remains the chief suspect in the murder. Syria denies any involvement in Hariri's death and says it supports an independent investigation.

The international tribunal opened Sunday with a moment's silence and a pledge to impartially investigate the politically charged case.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Special Court for Lebanon, prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said he will continue his investigations without political interference and said he will call as soon as possible for Lebanese authorities to turn over four pro-Syrian generals who are suspects in the case.

Bellemare, a Canadian, said he could issue several indictments as a result of his wide-ranging investigation into the murder, but he would not say when.

Washington officials believe that if the tribunal issues indictments against the Syrian suspects, Syria will respond harshly.

According to TIME, suspicions have arisen of a "deal being concocted in which the Syrian leadership is spared prosecution in exchange for progress on peace with Israel, loosening its close ties to Iran and an end to meddling in Lebanon."

The magazine also argues that the U.S. was the driving force behind the establishment of the tribunal, "which saw it as a useful tool to pressure Damascus into better behavior in Iraq, to cease meddling in Lebanese affairs and to drop its backing for militant anti-Israel groups such as Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah."