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Iran Sends a Signal to Obama through Beirut
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Shimon Shapira - The Hizbullah leadership is seeking to pre-empt the publication of the decision of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is expected to charge that senior Hizbullah members were involved in the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the current prime minister's father. The STL was established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolutions 1664 and 1757; the latter resolution was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which is generally reserved for acts of aggression. There is a tendency in the West to underestimate the Iranian role in Hizbullah decision-making. Iran is signaling to the Obama administration that the main political developments in Lebanon are being decided today in Tehran and not in Washington. Iran is testing U.S. power and determination, and the states of the Middle East are closely following what will be the outcome. Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira is a senior research associate at the Jerusalem Center.