BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 22 (UPI) -- The Israeli government is "very afraid" of militants with Hezbollah following the July 2006 conflict, the Iranian parliamentary speaker said.
Israel and Hezbollah went to war for 34 days in 2006 following the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah. Israeli forces responded with overwhelming force, though Hezbollah emerged from the conflict with political clout in Lebanon.
Ali Larijani, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, was quoted by Hezbollah's news agency al-Manar as saying the Israelis were afraid of Hezbollah.
"There is no doubt that Israelis are very afraid from Hezbollah's strength and its capabilities," he said. "Israeli officials know very well that this force stems from the party's symbol, Hassan Nasrallah."
Nasrallah said the arrest last week of a second employee at Alfa cell phone network provider shows Israeli intelligence has infiltrated Lebanon's telecom sector and is jeopardizing national security.
Nasrallah said use of any phone data by the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005 shows it up as "an Israeli project."
Hezbollah is believed to have played a role in the plot to kill Hariri.
Nasrallah is expected to have a series of news conferences starting with an evening announcement Thursday.
Al-Manar said the next announcement will be "decisive."
