Iran's Revolutionary Guards have recently moved heavy weaponry northeast, away from the Israel-Lebanon border, and stopped training Hizbullah pilots in Iran, the London-based Al Sharq al Awsat newspaper reported Thursday.
The Saudi daily quoted a source close to the Revolutionary Guards as saying that rockets and mortars were transferred by trucks from the Marjayoun area to underground bunkers located in east Lebanon.
According to the newspaper, the Revolutionary Guards stopped training glider operators from Hizbullah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, trained to fly gliders for suicide attacks. The paper said that some 30 people enrolled in the training program in Iran returned to Lebanon before completing their training.
A Revolutionary Guards source said that Iran has trained close to 100 Hizbullah activists and some 20 Islamic Jihad operatives, and has transferred unassembled gliders to Lebanon.
According to the newspaper, these latest moves reflect the fact that Iran takes seriously the latest US threats toward Tehran. In recent weeks, American officials have stressed that an important priority toward Iran has to try to end Tehran's support of “terrorist” groups, including Hizbullah, which appears on Washington's list of terrorist groups. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
