Iran Boosts Arms Supplies to Hezbollah, Reports Say

Iran is now flying at least three 747 jumbo cargo jets of supplies monthly to Syria for shipment to Lebanon’s Hezbollah forces in an effort to upgrade the arms capabilities of Tehran’s allies, according to Pentagon and U.S. intelligence sources.

The shipments are primarily weapons, though they contain some humanitarian supplies. The weapons include the Russian-made Sagger antitank missile that Hezbollah--a radical Islamic organization--has begun using successfully against Israel over the last two months, the sources said.

Israeli intelligence has told the United States that the shipments also contain modified long-range Katyusha rockets with a reach of 25 miles that could be launched from Lebanon as far south as Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city--a claim that U.S. officials have been unable to confirm.

Any heightening of Iran’s role in Lebanon raises grave concern in Washington, where experts are anxious not only about Tehran’s intent but that of Syria. Unlike some other nations in the region, Iran has not joined U.S.-led efforts to bring peace to the Mideast by resolving its conflicts with Israel.

Indeed, Iran has been singled out by American officials for obstructing a Mideast peace and fomenting terrorism, including a possible role in an attack in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 U.S. service personnel in June.

The Syrians have negotiated with Israel but the two nations’ talks are stalemated.

The Russian-made Katyusha has proved to be Hezbollah’s most consistently effective weapon against Israel, which occupies a 9-mile-wide self-declared “security zone” in southern Lebanon. But the weapon’s range has limited its use in attacks of Israeli kibbutzim and outposts in northern Galilee.

Iran has independently modified the Katyusha, which it has marketed to various allies over the last two years, Pentagon officials said.

Iran’s shipments of military and other goods are now “very intense” and mark a significant increase in supply lines to Hezbollah since Israel’s 16-day “Operation Grapes of Wrath” offensive against the pro-Iran Lebanese militia in April, a senior Pentagon official said.

Iranian diplomats vehemently denied the charges Thursday.

“Any allegations that Iran supplies Lebanese groups with arms are absolutely false,” said Hossein Nosrat, press spokesman for the country’s United Nations mission in New York. “The nature of our support to Lebanon is only humanitarian and moral support.”

But the Clinton administration is now deeply concerned about the military intentions of Iran and its allies on the only active front line in the Middle East conflict.

The gradual escalation in shipments began during Israel’s spring offensive, which the Israelis termed a retaliation for deadly shelling attacks from Lebanon. During Operation Grapes of Wrath, the Israeli military conducted 1,200 air raids and fired 13,000 artillery shells at Lebanon, killing 150 Lebanese, most of them civilians.

U.S. officials said Hezbollah long ago fully restocked arms lost during the offensive.

“Iran’s specific motive is the $64-million question,” a senior U.S. analyst said. “We don’t have an explanation.”

Iran’s behind-the-scenes role in obstructing the peace process has grown this year, intelligence officials said. While much of the Arab world has reconciled to the idea of peace with Israel, Iran’s rhetoric remains vehemently opposed to terms of the U.S.-brokered mediation effort.

At least two of the Palestinian extremists involved in deadly vehicle bombings against Israelis this year had ties to Iran, according to U.S. and Israeli intelligence.

The introduction of the Sagger missile is considered proof that Tehran is upgrading Hezbollah’s arsenal.

Iran’s military camps in Lebanon, run by about 200 Iranian Revolutionary Guards, also appear to be offering training on the more advanced systems. Hezbollah has shown proficiency with the Saggers, Pentagon officials said. The number of Iranian troops has not changed, however, U.S. officials said.

Washington is equally concerned about the ulterior motives of Syria, which may be allowing the shipments to further a new round of fighting that again would underscore the pivotal role of Damascus in ending regional strife. “Iran is building an option in Lebanon, and Syria is an active partner,” a Pentagon official said.

U.S. officials also believe that Iranian agents had made active preparations to attack Salman Rushdie, author of the controversial book “Satanic Verses,” in Denmark last month when he received a prestigious European Union literary award.

The plot would mark a violation of Tehran’s promise to the European Union not to follow through on the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa condemning Rushdie to death for blasphemy against Islam. Iran, however, had also refused to lift the edict after Khomeini died in 1989.

Because of what it called a “concrete threat” on Rushdie’s life, Denmark initially barred Rushdie from going to Copenhagen--a move so widely criticized that the government relented.

Iran on Thursday denied having any role in tracking down Rushdie. “As our government, including our president and the speaker of parliament, has said repeatedly, the Iranian government is not going to send anybody or any group to kill anybody in other parts of the world. That includes Salman Rushdie,” Nosrat said.