Iran and Hezbollah Discuss Strategy in Beirut As War Looms In Lebanon

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Esmail Qaani, the head of Iran’s Quds Forces, met with Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah in February to discuss strategy as the war in Gaza may soon extend to Lebanon, threatening the terrorist organization and forcing Iran to enter the war.

Qaani, who heads the branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence, met with Nasrallah in Beirut for at least the third time since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7.  Reportedly, the leaders discussed the possibility of a full-blown Israeli offensive in Lebanon that would be focused on Hezbollah.  The leaders considered how such developments would force Iran to adopt a more forceful response than it has displayed since the onset of the Gaza conflict in October.

In a previously undisclosed meeting, it was reported that Nasrallah conveyed to Qaani his desire to keep Iran out of a conflict with Israel or the United States, affirming that Hezbollah would undertake its battles independently, according to the Reuters News agency.

According to Reuters, Nasrallah told Qaani, “This is our fight.”

Nevertheless, a war in Lebanon that weakens Hezbollah would significantly affect Iran, which sees the terrorist organization as a critical ally against Israel and for its regional aims since 1982. “Hezbollah is, in fact, the first line of defense for Iran,” Abdulghani Al-Iryani, a senior researcher at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, told Reuters. If Israel targets Hezbollah, Iranian insiders believe Tehran would have to ramp up its support of its proxies in the region.

Over the last five months, while clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have managed to prevent a large-scale escalation, there are growing concerns that a full-blown war is on the horizon as Israel has intensified and expanded its counter-strikes over the past few days in Lebanon.

Tehran is concerned that a broader war in Lebanon could spread and lead to strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, which threatens the Jewish State and the West.

Over the past few years, the Iranian nuclear program has reached a critical level in the eyes of policymakers in Jerusalem and Washington.

In February, Ali-Akbar Salehi, the former head of Iran’s nuclear agency, revealed that his nation “crossed all the thresholds of nuclear science and technology.”

This month, the International Atomic Energy Agency acknowledged difficulties in monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities. “It is three years since Iran stopped provisionally applying its additional protocol, and therefore, it is also three years since the agency was able to conduct complementary access in Iran,” Rafael Grossi, the IAEA chief, noted regarding the challenge in overseeing Iran’s nuclear capabilities. He also mentioned that his agency “has lost continuity of knowledge about the production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water, and uranium ore concentrate.”

Critics of the Iranian regime have been warning for years of Iran’s intentions of developing nuclear weapons, despite Iranian claims publicly that it is only for peaceful purposes. However, the credibility of these denials is eroded by the persistent calls from Iranian leaders for the “Death of Israel,” referring to it as the “Little Satan” and advocating for the destruction of the United States, labeling it as the “Great Satan.” Such rhetoric casts doubt on their declarations of pursuing a peaceful nuclear program.

As tensions in the region are intensifying, observers of Biblical prophecy are closely monitoring the month of Ramadan, from March 10 to April 9 this year, with a particular focus on the Biblical Feast of Purim on March 23-24, 2024. This Jewish festival commemorates the saving of the Jewish people by Esther and Mordechai from Haman in the ancient kingdom of Persia, which is now Iran. Notably, Purim has aligned with major military events in recent history: the end of the first Gulf War on Purim in 1991, the start of the second Gulf War just two days after Purim twelve years later, and the 2011 military intervention to remove Qamar Qaddafi in Libya also took place on Purim.

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