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Under pressure from U.S., Syria stops supplying Hizbullah

By Steve Rodan
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, October 20, 1999

Syria has acceded to U.S. demands and is beginning to distance itself from Hizbullah as Iran has increased its sponsorship of the Shi'ite militia group, Middle East diplomatic and intelligence sources say.

The sources said Syria has stopped the flow of Iranian weapons to Hizbullah via Damascus and has allowed Teheran to send arms directly to Beirut. Syrian officials, however, continue to monitor the flow of weapons and can halt delivery at any time.

"The Syrians have been under pressure from the United States to end direct support to Hizbullah," a senior diplomat said. "By no longer having Iranian weapons delivered to Damascus airport, Syria can now claim that its hands are clean."

Diplomatic sources said the apparent end of direct Syrian support to Hizbullah and other groups on the State Department's list of terrorist groups was a condition by Washington for guarantees that would ensure the resumption of peace negotiations with Israel, suspended in 1996.

On Sunday night, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he expects negotiations with Syria to begin within the next several weeks.

Israeli sources said Iran has filled in the apparent vacuum left by Syria. They said Iran has increased its shipments of weapons to Hizbullah and they include more advanced equipment and explosives.

The sources also said that representatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are increasing their presence in Beirut as part of the increased cooperation between Teheran and Hizbullah. Until now, the Revolutionary Guards were deployed in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

On Monday, an Israeli unmanned air vehicle was sighted conducting what was an apparent reconnaissance mission over Hizbullah-dominated neighborhoods in southwestern Beirut, the first time in more than a month. Hizbullah and Lebanese army forces fired toward the UAV but did not hit the aircraft. Earlier this year, an Israeli UAV was used to locate and assassinate a Hizbullah commander.

Intelligence sources said that over the last 10 days Iran has been reviewing strategy with Hizbullah. A Hizbullah delegation, led by secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, has held two meetings with Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and discussed Teheran's support for the organization in the wake of any expected Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

The sources suspect that Hizbullah is pressing Iran to support a new wave of terrorism against Israeli and Jewish targets. They said this appears to be the reason that the Hizbullah delegation contains Imad Murniya, identified as the architect of the Hizbullah bombings against Israeli and Jewish targets in Argentina in the early 1990s. More than 100 people were killed in the bombs that destroyed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and the Jewish federation building two years later.

"The presence of Murniya is not coincidental," an intelligence source said. "You don't take up Ali Khamenei's time for two meetings and the possibility of further discussions for the purpose of pleasantries. It is clear something serious is being discussed."

The source said Middle East countries from Egypt to Jordan and the Gulf countries are closely following the Hizbullah meetings. All of these countries have accused Iran -- either publicly or privately -- of fomenting unrest among their citizens.

Wednesday, October 20, 1999


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