US Warning to Hezbollah: Israel's Response Would Break All Limits

Against the backdrop of a possible renewal of fighting between Israel and Iran, the United States, along with other parties in the West and the Arab world, has passed warnings to Lebanon about Hezbollah's involvement in a potential conflict. That was the report today (Monday) in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is identified with the terror organization.

According to a senior Lebanese government official, the American administration made clear to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that Hezbollah joining the fighting “would be met with a broad and severe Israeli response that would break through all limits.”

The paper assessed that the possibility of renewed conflict with Tehran may encourage Washington and Jerusalem to work toward reducing the number of active fronts. The report stated that “the expected confrontation, which may be difficult in terms of the nature of the targets and the scope and spread of operations, may push both sides to try to avoid fighting on several fronts at once, or at least to reduce the chances that Hezbollah enters the conflict.”

Al-Akhbar emphasized that the possible desire to keep Lebanon out of the campaign should not be interpreted as Israeli concern for the country’s stability. In their view, “the goal is to ensure freedom of action against Iran, and to prevent the military pressure from shifting to the northern front at a time when capabilities and resources are being worn down in another arena.”

Meanwhile, tomorrow military representatives from Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold technical discussions at the headquarters of the US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, mediated by General Joseph Clearfield.

According to reports in Lebanon, the Lebanese delegation intends to raise once again the issues it brought up in the negotiations in Rome on August 4 and 5. Among other things, it will argue that Israel violated the requirements concerning the first pilot zone.

The representatives are expected to state that “all the reports in their possession show that the Israeli army did not respect the requirements concerning the first pilot zone: it attacked the area and entered it again, and as a result a Lebanese civilian was killed.”