The United States pledged to sustain its efforts in supporting the state security institution in Lebanon, such as the Lebanese Armed Forces, which Washington views as a legitimate force that can serve as a counter-weight to the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah. The U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield asserted, in an address to an annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies that is hosted by Tel Aviv University, that Washington will continue to actively bolster forces in Israel’s northern neighbor that serve as a counter-weight to Iran’s growing influence. The American official said, “We will sustain our efforts to support legitimate state security institutions in Lebanon, such as the Lebanese Armed Forces, which is the only legitimate force in Lebanon, and could well serve as a counter-weight to Hezbollah’s desire to expand its own influence there, as well as Iran’s reach in Lebanon,” Satterfield told those attending the INSS security conference in Tel Aviv.
The Lebanese Armed Forces, which sat out the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, has received in the last seven years more than 1.5 billion dollars in American military assistance, in addition to training and support from U.S. special forces. That said, since the Iranian-proxy Hezbollah has been accredited with a key role in swaying the Syrian civil war in favor of the Damascus regime; American and Israeli security officials have voiced concerns with regard to apparent attempts by Hezbollah to broaden its clout in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Israeli security officials have provided their American counterparts with evidence of Hezbollah’s successful infiltration of the Lebanese Armed Forces, a fact that led Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman to declare that in case of a large-scale conflict with Israel’s northern neighbor, “all of Lebanon… will pay the full price.” Lieberman said, “It’s clear to everyone that if God forbid there is a large-scale conflict up north, it will not be like last time, it will not be against Hezbollah. As far as I’m concerned, all of the Lebanon – the Lebanese army, Lebanon and the Lebanese army – are no different from Hezbollah, they are part of Hezbollah and they will all pay the full price,” the Israeli defense minister threatened.
Israel’s Minister of Education and Member of the country’s Security Council Naftali Bennett echoed the threat Defense Minister Lieberman levelled toward Lebanon, but also warned that “another war in Lebanon will lead to attacks on the Israeli home front unlike anything that has been seen since the war of independence.” Bennett stressed that thousands of rockets will be fired from Lebanon on populated centers in the north and center of Israel, including on strategic installations. That is why, Minister Bennett stressed, Jerusalem must do everything in its power to avoid a war, or to drastically shorten its duration. That said, if a war would erupt, Minister Bennett emphasized that the Israeli Armed Forces would not restrict itself from expanding military operations across Lebanon.
Neither Iran, Lebanon nor Hezbollah, had an immediate response to the Israeli top defense official’s threat.