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Hizbullah Threatens to Strike Strategic Israeli Targets
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira - According to the Lebanese newspaper Al Joumhouria, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalali, visited Lebanon in August and gave a green light for the immediate use of Hizbullah's military force against Israel in response to an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. On August 17, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared: "The Israeli attack will give Iran an opportunity to destroy Israel as it has already dreamed of doing for thirty-two years," adding that "our missiles are prepared and aimed...we will not wait for anyone's approval." The avowal that Nasrallah has received a green light to respond immediately against quality targets in Israel contradicts his previous ambiguous statements that Hizbullah makes independent decisions and does not automatically act according to Tehran's orders. The writer is a senior research associate at the Jerusalem Center.