Headlined ‘Assassin of Rafic Hariri killed,’ the principal organ of Al-Mustaqbal Movement, Al-Mustaqbal Daily of Beirut was brazen and immoral enough to overstep the boundaries of unbiased reporting. It was as if the Movement’s organ was communicating messages of gratitude to the Zionist regime.
Seyed Mustafa Badreddine, aliased ‘Zulfiqar,’ was martyred in the morning of Friday, May 13, during a terrorist operation targeting a commander who symbolized a true believer in heavenly ordained destiny of his in embracing the event with open arms. He was buried beside his former colleague and beloved brother-in-law Imad Mughniyeh and other Resistance martyrs in Zahia, Lebanon. From the very beginning, Badreddine was hectic in exploring the principle causes and forces behind the assassination of the former commander (Mughniyeh), with findings that indicated that Israel was a complicit. The dossier was a heavy case where the evidence was not uncommon that the Zionist regime had been watching regularly the commander’s daily routine activities. The dossier was also telling of what parties provided help and information to the Zionist regime in finishing the task.
The investigations placed Badreddine in a top echelon where he had launched the most extensive anti-intelligence operations in the history of Resistance movement. The operation exposed and destroyed many of Zionist intelligence strongholds and brought failure of Tel Aviv-Washington joint ventures.
Upon the spreading the news of Badreddine’s martyrdom, the Zionist regime was on high alert to meet timely with possible retaliatory measures by Hezbollah, despite the fact that Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hezbollah Deputy-Secretary General did not hint to any specific party for complicity in the crime during the funeral ceremony, but he emphasized that “whoever behind the assassination attempt has effectively served Zionist interests.”
The US, a potential accomplice however reacted early with Josh Ernest, White House spokesperson denying that any US and its allied forces had been present in the scene.
Implicated by Al-Mustaqbal Movement as a possible player in assassination of Rafic Hariri, the martyrdom of Badreddine received with calculated conservatism by the Movement; their principal organ Al-Mustaqbal, accused Hezbollah of contaminating the crime evidence by hiding him [Badreddine] in a safe retreat and categorically denied his martyrdom. To the testimony of friends and foe alike, Hezbollah has a clean record of honesty in dealing even with its enemies and the headline was immoral and mean by standards of journalistic integrity.
The court addressing assassination of Rafic Hariri claims, amidst allegations that it lacked legitimacy to hear the case, that Badreddine has been responsible for Hariri’s assassination. The evidence for this claim is paltry at best: his cell phone had been traced in the vicinity of the place Rafic Hariri’s assassination. The false testimonies by Lebanese military officers, which however were later renounced as being spurious, provided Al-Mustaqbal with a strong excuse against a strong political rival, Hezbollah. Rafic Hariri was assassinated when he was leaving a session where he voiced express support for the Resistance. Decoding of a Zionist regime drone provided information that for few months, the Zionists had been watching and collecting intelligence on Hariri’s activities.
Statement by Hezbollah implicates Takfirists in the event, and it is too clear that western intelligence and logistical support, especially by Mossad would have been also helping with the operation, a point made by Naim Qassem as well in his Friday address.
Mohammad Ghaderi is a Tehran-based political analyst whose focus is on the Middle East affairs.