Hezbollah is armed with advanced Iranian-supplied missiles capable of reaching targets deep inside Israel, according to a report in Friday's edition of the London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Quds al-Arabi.

The report quotes senior Arab sources who claim that the Lebanon-based militia plans to use the missiles in the event Israel decides to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, or if the United States launches an offensive that has the potential to ignite a regional war.

The sources added that the new missiles have a range that Israel "cannot even fathom," and that the new arms are the "surprise" that Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah alluded to in his recent statements to the public. The report says the missiles are armed with a precision-guided mechanism that increases their accuracy.



A spate of media reports in recent months have indicated that Hezbollah has stockpiled new arms, including anti-aircraft systems, that it has deployed in the mountainous regions of Lebanon. Israel has repeatedly warned that positioning these missile batteries in Lebanon would be viewed as "a step that tilts the balance."

Officials in Jerusalem say this would justify a preemptive strike on these weapons systems.

Iranian defense experts are also reportedly in Lebanon in an effort to assist Hezbollah in developing anti-aircraft capabilities.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1016487.html