HEZBOLLAH ADMITS HELP/SPONSORSHIP FROM IRAN/SYRIA

Nasrallah admits ‘intelligence failure’ (JPost)
In an admission which underscores previous statements made by Hizbullah, leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that his organization suffered from an “intelligence failure” regarding the size and timing of an Israeli response in last summer’s war.

“Frankly, we were surprised by the size and strength of the response,” Nasrallah told Professor Sa’ad A-Din Avrahim, the director of an Egyptian think tank, in an interview which was published Saturday in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai Al-aam. “I don’t hide the fact that we expected Israel at some point to attack...but the information we had did not suggest they would choose to attack when they did.” ...

Moving to the issue of Iran and Syria, Nasrallah emphasized the integral role which both states have played in strengthening and assisting the guerilla organization.

“Iran assists the organization with money, weapons, and training, motivated by a religious fraternity and ethnic solidarity,” Nasrallah said. “And the help is funneled through Syria, and everybody knows it.”