Initial results from Lebanon’s first election in 9 years shows Hezbollah, the Iranian backed radical Shiite militant group winning 67 out of the 128 member parliament. If these results hold then Lebanon will be effectively controlled by Iran, giving it unfettered access to the north of Israel.
With President’s Trump’s announcement on the Iran deal due tomorrow at 2pm EST, the Middle East is on high alert for Iran responding to Israel’s attack on the T-4 base in Syria. With Lebanon now squarely in the hands of Iran, Israel is beginning to openly talk of decisive action in the coming weeks, if not sooner.
Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot of the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday evening, “Efforts by our enemies to strengthen themselves and Iran’s attempts to deepen its hold close to our borders require us to take the initiative, act with determination and strengthen our preparedness and preparedness vis-à-vis any scenario.”
Although there was an assumption that the Iranian leadership would thwink twice before attacking Israel, this is not the case. Iran may have had other plans and would have ideally waited for another two to three years before attacking Israel, but it cannot wait any longer. The regime in Tehran wants payback for the T-4 attack as well as deflecting the embarressment from the successful operation undertaken by Israel to remove Iran’s nuclear archives.
With Lebanon now controlled by Iran, expect the Mullahs to finally get their chance to take on Israel directly.
