Iran and its proxies, led by Hezbollah in Lebanon, have lately been hinting at the possibility of luring Israel into a war.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has said, were Israel to allow Jewish far-right activists to go ahead with their so-called Flag March through Muslim areas in Jerusalem’s Old City this week, there could be an “explosion” in the Middle East.
This warning has come in conjunction with the derailment of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany. The collapse reduces the possibility of a historic breakthrough in Vienna, as had been anticipated in May. war
One reason is said to be Israel’s success in dissuading the Biden administration from removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the US terror list, which had been one of Tehran’s preconditions in Vienna.
Meanwhile, Iranian Armed Forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri has vowed that the assassination of IRGC officer Col Sayad Khodai – which Tehran blames Israel for – will not go unpunished.
Hezbollah, which retains a vice-like grip over Lebanon’s political system, has warned pro-sovereignty forces within the establishment in Beirut against any attempt to block the group’s bid to effectively seize control of the country’s oil and gas resources – said to be found in the disputed marine border area with Israel.
The Iranian proxy is also determined to reject any proposed talks to disarm itself – a long-contentious issue – until after a dialogue is held to agree a joint strategy to extract hydrocarbons from Lebanon’s waters.
In other words, Hezbollah intends to expand the scope of the purpose of its weaponry to guarantee its domination over Lebanon’s energy resources – as well as to cement its position in all future regional negotiations.
For the group, the IRGC’s agenda holds precedence over Lebanon’s national interests.
Indeed, Nasrallah has invited the Iranian regime to be a party to oil and gas exploration in Lebanon, thereby imposing Tehran’s “resistance” agenda on negotiations and future exploration and extraction contracts.
