TFLE01:IRAN'S RESPONSE TO ISRAELI MILITARY ACTION IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBAI 004503 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/17/2016 TAGS: PREL IR IS SY LE ZP MOPS SUBJECT: TFLE01:IRAN'S RESPONSE TO ISRAELI MILITARY ACTION IN LEBANON DUBAI 00004503 001.2 OF 003 CLASSIFIED BY: Jillian L. Burns, Acting Consul General, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (d) 1.(U) Summary: Since Israel began its military action in Lebanon, Iranian officials and clerics have condemned Israel, as well as US support of Israel. They have also supported and justified Hizballah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers. President Ahmadinejad warned Israel not to broaden the conflict into Syria, and he threatened retaliation against the US and Israel if the latter does not stop its attacks. Iranian officials criticized other Islamic and Arab countries and the UN for not denouncing Israel and for admonishing Hizballah as the cause of the confrontation. Iran denied Israel's claims that it has troops in Lebanon and that a plan exists to transfer the captured Israeli soldiers to Iran. The Iranian press has roundly slammed Israel for killing civilians, women, and children. The hard-line daily Kayhan argued Israel's actions only serve Iran's interests, and a "pentagon" of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Hamas, and Iraq is forming in the region. End Summary. 2.(U) Since Israel began its military action against Hizballah targets in Lebanon, virtually all of Iran's major government officials and clerics have issued public statements in state-run media (all of the statements below are from government media outlets unless otherwise noted) about the issue, including Supreme Leader Khamenei, President Ahmadinejad, Foreign Minister Mottaki, Defense Minister Najjar, Supreme Council for National Security head Larijani, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Rahim-Safavi, Majles Speaker Hadad-Adel, interim Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Emami-Kashani, former president Khatami, and spokesmen for various ministries. Six common themes run through their statements. Theme 1: Israel attacks with disproportionate force -------------- -------------- 3.(U) Iranian officials severely chastised "the Zionist regime" as an unnatural, illegitimate state using disproportionate and brutal force to recover two captured soldiers. On July 16, Ahmadinejad claimed, "The Zionist regime has been imposed by way of conspiracy in order to pose a permanent threat, aggression, and cruelty. It is impossible for the regime to survive without oppression and conflict." "The Zionists," he said, "think that ;they are victims of Hitler, but they act like Hitler and behave worse than Genghis Khan." The same day Khamenei charged Israel with committing "unprecedented crimes." He termed Israel "satanic," "cancerous," and "an infectious fetus for all the Muslims in the world." Mottaki called Israel a "false regime" teetering on the brink of internal decay. He said Israel commits "atrocities" -- killing defenseless people, capturing thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians -- to keep itself alive. Similarly, Larijani accused Israel of bombarding civilian areas, including hospitals, residential neighborhoods, and airports to foment insecurity in the Middle East. Theme 2: US behind Israeli actions -------------- 4.(U) Iran blames the US for Israel's existence and sees American hands behind Israel's attacks on Lebanon. The US is thus equally culpable for Israel's "crimes." On July 16, Mottaki announced on Iranian state radio that "We strongly consider America as a collaborator in the extensive crimes of the Zionist regime. Without America's support, green light, and efforts to lay the groundwork, one cannot even imagine Israel being able to breach the air space of Muslim countries of the region, including Syria and Lebanon, this easily." Voicing another common refrain, Najjar opined July 16, according to Fars News Agency, that Washington wants war in the Middle East so it can dominate the region's oil reserves and assure Israeli security. Theme 3: Hizballah actions justified, Iran will support Lebanon -------------- -------------- -------------- 5.(U) While chastising Israel, Iranian officials have thrown their full weight behind Hizballah and Lebanon. In his Friday prayer sermon in Tehran July 14, Ayatollah Emami-Kashani explained that Hizballah captured Israel's soldiers because Israel did not respond when Hizballah asked Israel to release Hizballah prisoners. Therefore, in accordance with the Qur'an, Hizballah acted in self-defense and retaliated proportionately. "Hizballah's action was absolutely moral, religious, DUBAI 00004503 002.2 OF 003 conscientious, rational, and lawful," he said. In a statement July 16, Khamenei claimed the Lebanese people are grateful to Hizballah and regard it as their own army because it protects Lebanon from Zionist expansionism and fights in the name of Islam. The same day, Khatami sent Hizballah leader Nasrallah a message, saying, "Hizballah is the radiant sun which warms the hearts of Muslims and all free people around the world, especially those of the innocent, brave, and resisting nation of Palestine." On July 14, Mehr News reported that both government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham and Larijani pledged Iran's legal, diplomatic, humanitarian, and economic support to the Lebanese people. Larijani said Iran felt compelled to help a Muslim country rebuild from Israel's attacks. Theme 4: Iran threatens regional, worldwide response, tells Israel not to attack Syria -------------- -------------- -------------- 6.(U) Ahmadinejad repeatedly threatened Israel and the US with retaliation over the past week. He warned Israel it must apologize for current and past atrocities and allow Palestinians to have a free election. Otherwise, Israel "should expect a horrible destiny." (Comment: The Palestinians had an election in January so it is unclear what Ahmadinejad was referring to -- perhaps Israel's arrest of elected Hamas leaders. End Comment). To the US, he threatened international strife: "If they (the supporters) do not revise their support for the regime (Israel) or fail to topple it, they should know that this wrath would turn into a huge outburst, which would not be restricted to the region alone." Feeding off his claim that the US created Israel, Ahmadinejad warned the US to dismantle it or suffer the consequences. At the same time, he said Israel and the US do not pose a threat to Iran. Regarding Syria, he said, "If the Zionist regime attacks Syria, it will have to suffer a crushing response." Government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham and Najjar also stressed that an assault against Syria would be foolish, and other officials hinted Iran would retaliate for Israel's actions in general. Theme 5: Criticism of equivocal Islamic, Arab countries, UN -------------- -------------- 7.(U) Iranian officials criticized those Islamic and Arab countries which admonished Hizballah for provoking Israel, despite their accompanying condemnations of the severity of Israel's response. According to Fars News, on July 15 Rahim-Safavi expressed regret that "Many Arab and Islamic states have also displayed weakness in this respect. I hope that in the near future different countries will adopt necessary measures for confronting the Zionist atrocities." Ayatollah Emami-Kashani suggested July 14 that the Islamic nation (ummah) should show its appreciation for Hizballah by supporting it in Friday prayer sermons. He also criticized Muslim writers for questioning why Hizballah took Israelis hostage. Mottaki called on the UN Security Council July 14 to force Israel to stop its attacks. The following day, the Mehr News Agency reported that Iran's Islamic Human Rights Commission sent a letter to UNHCR Louise Arbour, urging her to take serious action against Israel for carrying out attacks in southern Lebanon and Palestine and killing "dozens of innocent men, women, and children on the pretext of the capture of a few of its soldiers." Theme 6: Denial of Accusations of Iranian Involvement -------------- -------------- 8.(U) Fars News reported July 16 that Najjar denied reports Iran aided Hizballah militarily. An unnamed Iranian diplomat denied a plan exists to transfer the captured Israeli soldiers to Iran. The Iranian press reaction -------------- 9.(U) The domestic Iranian press roundly condemned Israel for its attacks both against Gaza and Lebanon. A number of editorials and commentators argued Israel cannot afford a long war in Lebanon because it and the US are averse to military casualties. They predicted Israel will eventually be forced to retreat, as the US did from Beirut in 1983 and Israel did from southern Lebanon in 2000 and Gaza in 2005. The pro-Khamenei daily Kayhan said Israel and the US' policies will backfire because they are alienating the rest of the region. As a result, "If Iran was alone until yesterday, gradually the triangle of Iran, Syria, and Lebanon was formed and after that Hamas turned DUBAI 00004503 003.2 OF 003 this triangle to a square and after the establishment of the principle-ist government of Iraq it has turned to a pentagon. This pentagon is the new coordinates of the Middle East." 10.(C) Comment: By distancing itself from other Islamic and Arab countries that have criticized Hizballah, Iran is seeking to bolster its image as the leader of Islamic resistance against Israel and the US. It is unclear whether Iranian leaders' verbal threats of retaliation constitute posturing or foreshadowing. Although it shrugs off any threat from Israel and the US, Iran appears to be genuinely concerned an Israeli attack on Syria could hurt its position there. Kayhan's editorial seems reflective of Iran's grand regional strategy. 11.(C) Comment continued: While we do not have a general sense of public reaction inside Iran to these hardline comments or the events in the region, contacts continue to tell us that Iranians resent their government's expenditures on Hizballah and Palestinian terrorist groups while Iranians are suffering economically. BURNS