U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley on August 25 accused Iran of illegally smuggling arms to its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and sharply criticized the United Nations peacekeeping commander there for being "blind" to the activity.The commander, Major General Michael Beary, has rejected allegations by the United States and Israel that Hezbollah is illegally stockpiling arms in the country.
With the 10,500-member peacekeeping mission up for renewal next week, Haley has been pushing for a strengthened mandate to stop the flow of weapons to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, next door to Israel, which has long complained of Hezbollah’s military activities there.
"Since 2006, there has been a massive flow of illegal weapons to Hezbollah, mostly smuggled in by Iran," Haley said at the UN in New York.
"They openly threaten Israel. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that is very destabilizing to the region."
Iran and Hezbollah had no immediate comment on the charges.
But Beary said this week that his force has found no evidence of weapons being illegally moved into the area.
Haley said Hezbollah has been boasting about its weapons cache and Beary "seems to be the only person in south Lebanon who is blind to what Hezbollah is doing “She said his statement "shows that we need to have changes" in the mission.
"It's time the Security Council puts teeth in the [peacekeeping] operation," she said. "We don't need to be giving terrorists a pass."
Russia and France are advocating no change in the peacekeeping mandate, UN diplomats said.
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