Hezbollah leader threatens next war could draw fighters from Iran, Iraq and Pakistan
Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, said on Friday that a future war waged by Israel against Syria or Lebanon could draw thousands of fighters from countries including Iran and Iraq.
His comments indicated that the same array of Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias – but not countries – currently fighting in Syria in support of President Bashar Assad could take part in any conflict with Israel.
Tensions have risen between Hezbollah and Israel in recent months since Donald Trump became US president with his tough talk against Iran. Israel’s air force chief, Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel, said his country will use all its strength from the start in any war with Hezbollah.
Nasrallah said in a televised speech, “The Israeli enemy must know that if an Israeli war is launched against Syria or Lebanon, it is not known that the fighting will remain Lebanese-Israeli, or Syrian-Israeli.
“This doesn’t mean there are states that might intervene directly. But this could open the way for thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of fighters from all over the Arab and Islamic world to participate – from Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said.
Nasrallah has repeatedly warned Israel against attacking Lebanon, where the Iranbacked Shi’ite group is based, and from where it sends fighters to support Assad against insurgents.
Experts on the group say the warnings are part of a policy of deterrence that has also included revealing some of its military capabilities.
Nasrallah said in recent months that Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal can hit any target in Israel.
He said any Israeli war with Lebanon or the Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas, would be “very costly” and that Israel would not be able to win.
Israel has targeted senior Hezbollah commanders in air raids on Syrian soil. But there has been no major confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon since the month-long Second Lebanon War in 2006. (Reuters)