State Dept.: Iran training Hizbullah in Lebanon

The Jerusalem Post:

A top State Department official informed Congress on Thursday that Iranian training personnel are helping Hizbullah fighters in Lebanon.

Assistant Secretary of State David Welch told the House International Relations Committee the information was provided by "our own sources."

Welch also testified there was "a continuing covert Syrian presence there" despite the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. READ MORE

And, Welch said, there are armed Palestinian groups in Lebanon, as well.
Welch said the United States would have no contact with Lebanon's energy and water minister, Mohammed Fneish, who is a member of Hizbullah.

The State Department official reiterated the long-standing US determination that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization.

The group is known to operate with weapons provided by Iran that are channeled to it through Syria, which borders Lebanon.

Asked by Rep. Howard Berman whether Iranian cadre were training Hizbullah in Lebanon, Welch replied, "Yes."

"There continues to be an Iranian presence in association with Hizbullah in Lebanon," he said.

Welch said the Lebanese army should extend its authority to southern Lebanon and the militia groups should be disarmed.

But on Wednesday, the leader of Hizbullah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said no one could uproot the Shiite Muslim group. "The resistance in Lebanon is not an armed gang that can be hit or eradicated," he told supporters in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora pledged to protect Hizbullah, saying the Lebanese government considers it "an honest and natural expression" of resistance to Israeli aggression and threats.

Rep. Tom Lantos called the statement "profoundly disturbing." He said he was not aware of any Israeli threats to Lebanon.

Welch agreed. Challenging Saniora, whose government has the Bush administration's support, Welch said, "There is no part of Lebanon occupied by Israel."

"I don't know what they would be resisting," he said.

"Hizbullah admits its material support for Palestinian terrorist operations, which undermines the Palestinian leadership's goal of stopping violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories," Welch said.

Still, Welch and James Kunder, an assistant administrator of the US Agency for International Development, said the Bush administration had asked Congress to approve $35 million ( 28.93 million) in US aid and $1.7 million ( 1.4 million) in other support.

He said plans would be made for an international donors conference in Beirut this fall.