Hezbollah: "Sisterly" Iran to the Rescue

Tariq Alhomayed

Tariq Alhomayed

Several points can be drawn from a statement attributed to the Iranian Supreme Leader, saying that the Hariri Tribunal is false, and a sham. The first of these points is that the statement reaffirms, in a manner which leaves no room for doubt, that Hezbollah is an Iranian tool, which Tehran will not readily compromise on. Lebanon today is Iran’s most significant playing card, and bargaining chip. This is the case whether dealing with Israel or Europe, by virtue of the country’s location, or in negotiating on the nuclear issue, or as an Iranian military front against Israel, in the event of a military strike on Tehran, launched from Washington or Tel Aviv. Of course this is a reply to people who say: “leave Lebanon alone”.

The next point that can be deduced from the statement is that Khamenei’s comments confirm that he is the sole authority in Tehran, rather than the President, or the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This was also shown in comments made by Iran’s new Foreign Minister, indicating that he was unable to accomplish what he had promised a few days ago, after the dismissal of [Manouchehr] Mottaki.

Yet the following point is the crux of the matter: The Supreme Leader’s statement came days after an appeal from Hezbollah, to ‘sisterly’ and ‘friendly’ countries, to intervene and prevent the issuance of indictments from the Hariri Tribunal. [In response] the Syrian President had said that this [tribunal] was not a Saudi-Syrian initiative, but a Lebanese solution. In fact, after Hezbollah appealed to its ‘sisterly’ and ‘friendly’ countries, no one lifted a finger. Thus the Iranian Supreme Leader intervened to say: “The deadline, set by Tehran, for Syria to provide a solution, has passed”. Therefore the sister, in other words Iran, has come to the rescue of Hezbollah. However, the question is, does this actually help Hezbollah?