Hezbollah Leader Threatens to Strike Israeli Oil Facilities

The leader of Hezbollah, Lebanon, on Friday, February 16, advised the government of the country to stand firm regarding the disagreement with Israel over energy extraction in the sea, threatening that the group would strike Israeli energy facilities if necessary. Lebanon signed its first oil and gas extraction contract last week in two maritime areas with a consortium of three French, Italian, and Russian companies. Lebanon has a disagreement with its southern neighbor, Israel, regarding one of these maritime areas. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, who enjoys the firm support of the Islamic Republic, made this recommendation regarding standing firm in their position related to this disagreement with Israel. In a speech on Friday, Mr. Nasrallah commented on this oil contract, stating that Hezbollah could act as Lebanon's only leverage. According to AFP, the United States has attempted to mediate this disagreement, and one of the deputy secretaries of state has been visiting Lebanon since early this month to meet with Lebanese officials. According to Reuters, senior Lebanese officials met with a U.S. representative on Friday regarding this issue. Nevertheless, according to AFP, Hassan Nasrallah stated in his speech that he does not consider the U.S. to be an 'impartial mediator.' He went so far as to describe the disagreement with Israel over this oil issue as 'a war for all of Lebanon.' Nasrallah further advised Lebanese leaders not to fear Israel's military power and to showcase Hezbollah's military strength in their negotiations with American officials. As reported by Reuters, Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, also agreed with the Hezbollah leader, calling U.S. proposals on this matter 'unacceptable.' Reuters noted that the U.S. proposals refer to 'Frederick Hoff's plan, an American diplomat, in 2012.' According to this plan, a line is drawn in the disputed blue area, which covers approximately 860 square kilometers, allocating about two-thirds of the area to Lebanon and one-third to Israel. One day before the meeting of Lebanese officials with American officials, Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, visited Lebanon and indicated that the U.S. is working to bring Israel and Lebanon closer together to ensure peace along their borders. He had stated a day earlier at a press conference in Jordan, before departing for Lebanon, 'We support a free and democratic Lebanon free from the influence of others, and we know that Hezbollah is under the influence of Iran. This influence is, in our opinion, not beneficial for the long-term future of Lebanon.' Rex Tillerson also added, 'We must also acknowledge the reality that they (Hezbollah) are part of the political process in Lebanon.' Israel considers Hezbollah to be the greatest direct threat at its borders and has repeatedly attacked the group's positions in Syria. Hezbollah is the only party in Lebanon that has not laid down its arms since the country's civil war.