Hezbollah, with the help of Iran, has secretly established a new precision-guided rocket manufacturing plant in Lebanon, according to a report broadcast Monday night on Israel’s Channel 13 news.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Lebanon’s Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri during his visit to Beirut that Hezbollah and Iran had secretly built the new factory to produce precision missiles on Lebanese soil, an American source said.
“We have made it clear to the Lebanese government that Hezbollah is doing something inside Lebanon, and the danger of an escalation with Israel as a result of this is real,” said the U.S. official. “We confirmed that all the information we have in this context exists, also with the Lebanese government.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed the existence of factories to produce precision missiles, built by Hezbollah in Lebanon last year.
In his speech at the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu presented maps of three missile manufacturing plants located in Lebanon belonging to the Iranian proxy group: the first is located inside a football stadium where a group affiliated with Hezbollah plays; the second is located near the Rafik Hariri International Airport; and the third is in the Marina, some 500 meters from the airport landing strip. He noted that all the missile factories were located among residential civilian buildings.
Pompeo passed strong messages from Israel to the Lebanese leadership about two weeks ago, according to American sources. The Secretary of State said the information was received about the new missile project from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel before leaving for Lebanon.
In Syria, the Israel Defense Forces have repeatedly bombed Iranian weapons depots, arms factories and convoys transporting advanced ordnance to Hezbollah.