Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Iran has established a network that could stage major
attacks in the United States, a congressional report said.

The House Homeland Security Committee has asserted that Iran built a
network throughout the United States. In a report, the committee said the
Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah is believed to have been directing hundreds of
agents for a range of operations.

“There is general consensus among dozens of experts as well as current and former law enforcement and intelligence officials interviewed by the Majority Investigative Staff that Hizbullah is the most capable of flipping a U.S.-based fundraising cell into a lethal terror force,” the report said.

The report said most of the suspected Hizbullah agents sought by the United States were Lebanese nationals or natives. Many of the suspects in the 21 investigations of Hizbullah were said to have fled back to Lebanon where they eluded arrest.

On March 21, the committee heard testimony by former officials and consultants who warned of an expanding Iranian operational presence in the United States. The witnesses described Hizbullah as establishing an operational presence while earning revenue through smuggling and fund-raising.

“Now, as Iran moves closer to nuclear weapons, and there is increasing
concern over war between Iran and Israel, we must also focus on Iran’s
secret operatives and their number one terrorist proxy force, Hizbullah,
which we know is in America,” House Homeland Security Committee chairman
Rep. Peter King said.

The committee was told that Hizbullah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps were operating throughout North and South America. Witnesses
said the Iranians were working with drug trafficking cartels and operating
charities.

“While Al Qaida has gained attention and notoriety with a series of
sensational attacks, Hizbullah has quietly and strategically operated below
the radar screen by avoiding overt terrorist attacks in the U.S.,” former
FBI official Chris Swecker said.

Hizbullah and IRGC were said to have sent operatives trained in military
tactics to the United States. At the same time, Hizbullah has assigned
agents to procure such advanced equipment as night-vision devices, laser
range-finders, mine and metal detectors, and advanced aircraft analysis
tools from the United States.

“Hizbullah has long seen the United States as a cash cow, where it has
run charities and engaged in a vast array of criminal activities to raise
money and procure material for the organization,” former FBI analyst Matthew
Levitt said.

  Al Qaida, Congressional report: Iran has expanded its terror network inside the U.S., Hizbullah operational presence in U.S., House Homeland Security Committee, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Rep. Peter King