The very Tau rocket that was used to attack Israeli soldiers
last week may have been sent originally by Israel to Iran as
part of the international American scandal of the Reagan
administration known as "Irangate."
According to the London daily Telegraph, Israeli
security sources thought that the antitank weapon was in a
consignment shipped to Iran from Israel in the mid-1980s in
the illegal arms-for-hostages deal arranged by U.S. Colonel
Oliver North. Israel shipped the rockets at the behest of the
U.S. to Iran to free American hostages held in captivity in
Iran. Israel received newer-model rockets from America to
replace those it sent away, and passed the money it received
from Iran back to the American CIA. The money was then used
by the CIA to finance covert activity in Nicaragua.
Israeli sources were profoundly upset by the thought that the
weapons that they shipped were used to kill Israeli soldiers,
though it is not the first time that such a possibility has
been suggested.
In the past two weeks seven Israeli soldiers have been killed
by Hizbullah in southern Lebanon, in a series of surprising
successes. The deaths prompted massive military retaliation
by Israel last week, in which warplanes bombed Lebanese power
plants and Hizbullah targets.
Initially it was thought that the Hizbullah activity had been
connected with the breakdown of peace talks between Syria and
Israel. However new information suggests that they were
ordered by Teheran, where militant Islamic leaders are
attempting to raise their profile before Friday's
parliamentary polls.
According to the Telegraph, recent intelligence reports
said there were substantial arms shipments from Teheran to
Lebanon, including long-range Katyusha missiles and antitank
weapons. All these weapons were transported via Syria.
Intelligence sources said that the shipments seemed aimed at
giving Hizbullah a larger inventory of weapons, sufficient to
sustain attacks for as long as two weeks.
The arms shipments were personally authorized by Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, Iran's spiritual leader and figurehead of
militant Islamic groups, who is deeply opposed to the Arab-
Israeli peace process. His followers also hope that Hizbullah
attacks against Israel will be improve the prospects of
Iran's conservative politicians in upcoming elections.
The revelation that Iranian hard-liners are behind the attacks
is deeply embarrassing for Mohammed Khatami, the Iranian
president, who has a reputation as a moderate and has tried
to persuade the West that his country is no longer involved
in international terrorism.
President Khatami's effort has succeeded to the extent that
Robin Cook, the U.K. Foreign Secretary, recently restored
diplomatic relations with Teheran.
Hizbullah, a radical militia which draws support from
Lebanon's Shiite Muslims, has enjoyed close relations with
Iran, the region's largest Shiite Muslim nation.
The Iranians fear that Syria, which already controls most of
Lebanon, would insist that Hizbullah demobilize its military
forces after a settlement with Israel, as they would no
longer be necessary to conduct attacks against Israel. As one
of Syria's closest regional allies, the Iranians could not
oppose the Syrian wishes.
The bombing raids last week by Israeli warplanes against
Lebanese targets will undoubtedly help hard-line Iranian
politicians as they enter the final week of election
campaigning.
President Khatami, Iran's reform-minded leader, is attempting
to overthrow the conservative majority in the country's 260-
member parliament so that he can implement a series of wide-
ranging reforms.
