Top > World > 2006 > July > 2006-07-14

Pondering the Pleasure of Iran

Iran must be taking particular relish that on the day Russia, China and France supported the sending of the Islamic Republic to the United Nations Security Council over the issue of its nuclear program, the terrorist attacks by Hezbollah on Israel took place, which Israel called an act of war by Lebanon and which caused the U.S. to blame both Syria and Iran. With the attention of Israel, the European Union, and the United States on Israel and Lebanon, who knows what Iran may be up to?

Iran is a key supporter of the Hezbollah terrorist group, which has members serving in both the Lebanese cabinet and parliament. Hezbollah?s stated purpose was to be an organized resistance group to Israel?s occupation of south Lebanon following years of Palestinian terrorist attacks conducted against the Jewish state from Lebanese territory, but since Israel pulled out in the spring of 2000 and the UN has supported the view that Israel has fully pulled out, Hezbollah maintains that the Shebaa Farms area is Lebanese, and thus there is still reason for its existence.

However, the United Nations has stated that the Shebaa Farms, located at the tip of the Golan Heights, are Syrian territory and thus subject to any future negotiations which may take place between Damascus and Jerusalem in the future. Syria, though, supports the Hezbollah position on the Shebaa Farms. Hezbollah is opposed to Israel?s existence, calling what is Israel as ?Occupied Palestine?.