Salehi Says Israel 'Benefits' from Hasan Assassination
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that Israel is the “primary beneficiary” from the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Wissam al-Hasan to distract the public opinion to other matters.
“What will Syria benefit from killing him?” Salehi wondered in an interview expected to be published in the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper and the Qatari al-Watan newspapers on Saturday.
Salehi pointed out that al-Hasan uncovered 30 Israeli spy networks in Lebanon, “which indicates that Israel is solely the number one beneficiary from his assassination.”
Hasan was assassinated on October 19 along with two others.
The assassination of Hasan, who blamed Damascus for a series of political assassinations in Lebanon including that of former premier Rafik Hariri, has shaken the country's fragile political structure.
The March 14 camp has been demanding the resignation of the cabinet since Hasan's murder in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.
It accused Syria of being behind the crime, saying that the government, which is comprised of pro-Syria allies, is covering up for it. The Iranian FM noted that “although his country maintains special ties with Hizbullah and AMAL but it also has special relations with all of the parties in Lebanon.”
“We might have different points of view over some issues, however, we don't meddle in the Lebanese affairs,” Salehi said.
Asked about Hizbullah's, Iranian-made, drone that penetrated Israel on October 6, Salehi said that “it's not a secret that Iran has obtained pilotless aircrafts that are more sophisticated than this one.”
“We are one of the few countries that has this technology and our drones can reach a range up to 2,000 kilometers,” Salehi revealed.
Israel routinely sends F-16 fighter planes over Lebanon, in violation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 war. The Israeli planes have often broken the sound barrier over Beirut and other places as a show of strength, most recently after the drone incident.
Israel's air force shot down the unarmed drone over the Negev desert after it entered the country's airspace from the Mediterranean Sea.
At the time, the Israeli military dismissed the idea that the drone could have been launched from Gaza, and said it was examining the possibility it may have been sent by Hizbullah.
Several days later, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his movement had sent the drone, saying the aircraft was "Iranian-built and assembled in Lebanon."
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