Salem Zahran to LBCI: WSJ report on Hezbollah leader’s assassination is false

Salem Zahran, the Director of the Media Center, has refuted claims made in a Wall Street Journal article regarding the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fouad Shokor. 

The article suggested that Israeli intelligence agency Mossad breached Hezbollah’s communication network and used a phone call to track and kill Shokor.

On LBCI’s “Nharkom Said” TV show, Zahran dismissed these allegations, asserting that Hezbollah does not operate in this manner. 

He also emphasized that Shokor was never on the seventh floor, contrary to the report’s claims.

Zahran also commented on the ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations, suggesting that a provocative war remains a likely outcome. 

He noted that while a forty-day truce followed by renewed conflict is another possibility, it appears unlikely.

He further indicated that Lebanon is expected to remain in a state of stasis, neither escalating nor calming, due to current indicators.

Regarding regional tensions, Zahran suggested that while there is no immediate threat of a regional war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions are unpredictable. 

Zahran speculated that Netanyahu might seek a regional conflict to target Iran’s nuclear program, which is projected to become a nuclear state within the next year and a half. 

He added that Israel would likely only engage in such a conflict if assured of American support.

On the potential aftermath of a war, Zahran stated that addressing the situation in south Lebanon would be less complex than in Gaza. 

Zahran said: “The situation would be easier in South Lebanon compared to Gaza because the solution for Lebanon is Resolution 1701, whereas in Gaza, the Israelis want to change its identity.”