August 10, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Hezbollah’s campaign on STL linked to Iran, source says

Al-Liwaa newspaper quoted on Tuesday an unnamed diplomatic source as saying that Hezbollah’s campaign on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is linked to Iran’s nuclear program and the sanctions imposed on it.

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah presented on Monday alleged evidence—including footage he said came from Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) monitoring former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and a confession from a suspected Israeli spy—in an aim to implicate Tel Aviv in the Hariri assassination.

Following the UN Security Council’s decision to impose a fourth set of sanctions on Tehran in early June, EU leaders as well the US Congress agreed shortly afterward to impose their own penalties against the Iranian energy sector.

“Iran aims to inform the US and Western countries that it controls Lebanon and [affects its situation] anytime it wants,” the source said, adding that when Iran is pressured, it responds by pressuring Lebanon through Hezbollah.

“Why did Nasrallah launch his campaign now? Is it a coincidence that this campaign synchronizes with [talks] about new sanctions on Iran?” the source asked.

According to Ali Velayati—the senior advisor for international affairs to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Khamenei— Iran is ready to discuss its nuclear program with the US.

Hezbollah’s campaign on the tribunal’s indictment will continue as long as the issue of Iran’s nuclear program is not finalized with Western countries, the source added.