Iran, Hezollah to take over Beirut if Assad falls

Israel’s Daily, The Jerusalem Post, reported on Thursday that Hezbollah may launch a military offensive to take over Lebanon’s capital Beirut. This scenario would play out if Syrian President Bashar Assad is forced out of power.

The Dubai-based Arabic-language news website Al Arabiya first reported the story on Tuesday citing a source it claims is close to Hezbollah.                       

According to the source, which remained anonymous, worry has begun to befall officials about the potential fallout that may result following the collapse of the Syrian regime, especially given the alliance between Hezbollah, Syria and Iran.                 

"The moment that Hezbollah feels that the fall of the Assad regime is imminent - either as a result of the popular movement or of foreign military intervention - it will move quickly to take control of East and West Beirut," the sources told Al Arabiya, adding that Hezbollah would receive support from the Free Patriotic Movement.                    

According to the source, Hezbollah would seek to fortify itself in the nation's capital in order to defend itself against possible threats by Israel, which may seek to strike Hezbollah should Assad fall from power.                            

According to the Jerusalem post, Israel says that Iran has heavily armed Hezbollah by smuggling weapons through Syria. In August, as protests raged across Syria, Turkish officials seized Iranian arms that were transferred through Syria and reportedly en route to Lebanon.                       

Israeli military sources stated that there are growing fears of the possible arms smuggling from Syria into Lebanon adding that scud missiles are being transferred to Hezbollah. The scuds were given should a conflict arise between the resistance movement and Israel. The post added that Israel may have to use extreme measures to prevent the weapons from reaching Hezbollah.