BICOM

According to a report in the US publication, The Daily Beast, Hezbollah is working closely with Russian forces in Syria and is being armed directly by the Russian military.

Russia has established a military presence in Syria during the past few months in support of President Assad’s forces, which routinely fight alongside its close Hezbollah allies. The article interviews two unnamed Hezbollah commanders, who claim that Russia and Hezbollah are working hand in hand in Syria, saying, “Without their [Russian] air force we can’t advance and they couldn’t give us air support without our information from the ground.”

The commanders also claim that Russia is providing Hezbollah with “long-range tactical missiles, laser guided rockets, and anti-tank weapons” to aid the pro-Assad push. They add that the arms supplies come with “no strings attached” and could theoretically be used against Israel. Summarising, the commanders said that “We are strategic allies in the Middle East right now – the Russians are our allies and give us weapons.”

Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot reports this morning that Israel is “worried” over apparent Russian discussions to sell arms and military hardware to Iran, including Sakhoi-30 fighter jets, T-72 tanks and sophisticated Yakhont missiles.

Although Israel has sat firmly on the side-lines of the Syrian conflict, Israeli leaders have consistently reiterated that action will be taken if attempts are made to transfer weapons to terror groups such as Hezbollah, amid the fog of war. Israel is thought to have conducted air strikes against weapons shipments on a number of occasions near the Syria-Lebanon border.

Russia is thought to be fully aware of Israel’s position. Since Russia’s intervention in Syria, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin alongside their military chiefs to agree protocols which would avoid any misunderstandings between the respective militaries. In November, Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon candidly admitted that Russian jets have on at least one occasion violated Israeli air space, but that good communication meant the error was corrected without incident.