Word: hizballah
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...repair the ruptures in Tehran's diplomatic relations. Nevertheless, the IRGC has been one of Iran's main instruments in projecting power and influence over the past few decades. It has its own army, air force and navy. And it is known for actively supporting militant groups like Hizballah in Lebanon and is suspected of aiding Shi'ite militias within Iraq. Iran had indicated it would release the lone female sailor, Faye Turney, but first, its tactics with her began to look more like those of an Iraqi kidnap group than of a nation-state. On March 28, Iran broadcast...
...truth of opinion polls that give him the lowest approval ratings of any Prime Minister in the nation's history. He bears the onus of the living in the shadow of Ariel Sharon, of failing to snatch victory in last year's Lebanon war - a conflict that saw Hizballah Katyushas raining down on Israeli territory - of leading the nation as the specter of a nuclear-armed Iran rises to the east and of presiding over a government plagued by corruption, financial, ethical and criminal scandals. It is a time of "complete disillusionment, an implosion of faith in the country...
...IRGC commander in Lebanon, Asgari was also one of Hizballah's stepfathers. In the late '80s and early '90s, he was Hizballah Secretary General's Hasan Nasrallah's primary Iranian contact, and certainly in a position now to provide evidence of Nasrallah's involvement in terrorism. Asgari was the primary Iranian contact for one of the world's most lethal and capable terrorists, 'Imad Fa'iz Mughniyah. Mughniyah is indicted in the U.S. for the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and the murder of a Navy diver...
...news for Hizballah and Iran doesn't end there. Asgari would be able to tell us about Hizballah's secret military commanders, its overseas networks, and possibly its cells in the U.S. A friend close to Hizballah's leadership tells me Hizballah has gone to battle quarters, concluding Asgari's "kidnapping" is a prelude for its next round with Israel...
...Asgari's possible defection would mean for this Administration's plans for Iran. Nothing is certain when it comes to Iran, but here's what I think we should look for: If Asgari resurfaces in the next couple months with a detailed, convincing bill of indictment against Iran and Hizballah (unlike Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's supposed confession), we should expect a confrontation. For instance, in the late '80s Hizballah, under IRGC orders, sent plastic explosives to secret cells around the world. Only one shipment was intercepted. The others are presumably still in place. If Asgari helps...