Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has asserted that the militia's arsenal has attained or surpassed its prewar level. He has said that his weapons can hit "any area in occupied Palestine."
Hezbollah leaders have declined to discuss specific numbers. But a source close to Hezbollah agreed with the Israeli assessment of the military buildup. The source spoke on condition of anonymity, citing a temporary halt in contacts with Western news media.
"We are ready and we are stronger than two years ago," the source said. "In every battle there are weak and strong points. We have found solutions to all of our weak points from that experience."
The source said Iran has no "operational" role, but acknowledged that Tehran and the militia have a strong strategic partnership.
Nasrallah and his deputies say they would not provoke new hostilities.
In a report presented in February, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that rearmament of Hezbollah would threaten the "sovereignty, stability and independence of Lebanon." Hezbollah controls large chunks of Lebanese territory, especially in the south.
In a report in October, Ban presented allegations provided to the U.N. by Israel and by Lebanon's prime minister that Hezbollah had beefed up its missile stocks with Syrian and Iranian help, and said those two countries had "special responsibility" not to destabilize Lebanon. Speeches by Nasrallah "seemed to confirm" Israeli allegations about the growth of the arsenal, Ban said.
Western and Israeli officials say Iran and Syria play a vital clandestine role in rebuilding Hezbollah's military. Because of his ties to Iranian and Syrian security forces, Mughniyah oversaw the drive, officials say.
Western security officials say they discovered last year that Iran was procuring telescopic sights for antitank guns and rocket-propelled grenades from an Eastern European country. Communications among Iranian diplomats revealed that the sights were earmarked for Hezbollah, say the officials, who because of the sensitivity of the information declined to be identified. Iran also allegedly furnished night-vision equipment and binoculars, the officials say.
An explosion last May in southeastern Turkey exposed an arms trafficking route operated by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, the Western security officials say. When Kurdish separatists blew up the tracks and derailed a train heading from Iran to Syria, police discovered rockets, missiles, guns and ammunition concealed in construction equipment.
