Israel's Military Chief: Iran Sanctions Relief Means more Funds for Hizbullah

Israel's military chief has said that the Iranian nuclear deal and the lifting of sanctions that followed present Israel with "grave dangers,” adding that Tehran's funding for Hizbullah will increase notably in the coming years.

Iran’s “advanced military industry” will develop further, and its transfer of funds to Hizbullah, which has so far stood at around a billion dollar a year, will increase, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot said Monday.

Iran’s proxy regional activities will pose an increased risk around Israel in the immediate future, he said.

“Iran is fighting a proxy war against Israel. Hizbullah is the most severe threat to Israel. Since 2006, it has been armed, funded, and even led by the Iranians,” he added.

Eisenkot spoke at the Ninth Annual International Conference held by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), a top Israeli think-tank, in Tel Aviv.

Hizbullah remains the Israeli army's “No. 1 enemy,” Eisenkot told the conference, accusing the party of challenging Israel’s aerial and intelligence superiority through its conversion of 240 Shiite towns and villages in southern Lebanon into rocket assault bases.

But he stressed that “Hizbullah understands the implications of an escalation in Lebanon.”

G.K.

D.A.