Syria, Hizbullah, Iran prepare in case of war
Defensive measures taken amid US-Iran tensions spur concern about accidental conflict.
from the April 6, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
"What we expect, or don't expect, from Israel has nothing to do with our preparations. In any situation, we are prepared," Mr. Mussawi says.
Iran's regionwide defensive preparations against a potential US attack, ironically, have been aided by Washington's policy of politically isolating Syria since 2003 and the Hamas-led Palestinian government since last year.
Ignored by the US and Europe, Syria and Hamas turned to Iran. In June 2006, Syria and Iran signed a mutual defense pact and last month inked a protocol on deepening bilateral military cooperation.
"There is a belief very much in Syria and certainly with Hizbullah that, should the Americans attack Iran, then Israel will get involved in a preemptive operation here," says Timur Goksel, a Beirut-based security-affairs analyst.
A Lebanese intelligence source says that the Syrian Army is being taught some of the guerrilla-style tactics devised by Hizbullah in Lebanon. "The Iranians are trying to convince Syria that if they use the same tactics as Hizbullah and if they can last 20 to 30 days in a war with Israel before a cease-fire, then [the public perception will be that] they will have won and Israel will have lost," the source says.
Iran also took advantage of the refusal by Israel and the US to deal with the Hamas government in the Palestinian territories, which was elected in January 2006. Tehran stepped into the gap, pledging Hamas $150 million to compensate for the freeze on Western development aid.
Israel claims that dozens of Hamas militants have traveled to Iran for training and that Iranian-supplied weapons are being smuggled via tunnels from Egypt into Gaza. "Hamas is doing all its best to arm itself. The attempt to stop it is like putting a door in the middle of the desert," Dr. Shtauber says, commenting on an Egyptian promise this week to stave the flow of weapons. "You can just go around it."
• Ilene R. Prusher contributed to this report from Israel.
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