Tehran Terror Lord Eyed In Soldier Kidnappings
New York Post
July 24, 2006
Tehran Terror Lord Eyed In Soldier Kidnappings
By Niles Lathem, Post Correspondent
WASHINGTON - Master terrorist Imad Mugniyah was in Beirut just days before the Hezbollah kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers - raising strong suspicions that the longtime U.S. foe played a central role in the crime that sparked the conflict in Lebanon.
His likely involvement would mean that Iran had a more direct role in the conflict than previously thought, since Mugniyah, 44, is now considered an Iranian agent who lives in Tehran and is under the protection of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Many U.S. intelligence analysts already believe that Iranian officials approved, if not ordered, the kidnappings to spark a crisis elsewhere in order to gain a respite from the worldwide pressure placed on Tehran over its nuclear program. Iran recently doubled its cash payments to Hezbollah to $300 million a year, a Lebanese official told Time magazine.
Mugniyah's apparent involvement has increased U.S. fears that he would be willing and able to help Hezbollah raise the stakes, especially if the terror group is faced with annihilation amid the Israeli onslaught on Lebanon. That could mean launching terror strikes on Israeli and Jewish targets in Europe, Latin America - or the United States.
"We have no evidence that anything is imminent, but if Hezbollah were to decide to launch terrorist attacks outside the Lebanon theater of operations, he [Mugniyah] would be the person putting it all together," a U.S. counterterrorism official said.
Mugniyah has a long and bloody history, including allegedly orchestrating the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut.
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