Intelligence information USA recently declassified confirmed that the Russian mercenary group Wagner is preparing to bolster the air defense capabilities of the Lebanese Islamist militia Hezbollah or the Islamic Republic of Iran, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.
“Wagnerunder the direction of the Russian Government, is preparing to provide an air defense capability to Hezbollah oa Iran”he declared kirby to the press.
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kirby He added that the United States is prepared to sanction “Russian individuals or entities that may make these destabilizing transfers.”
He added that in exchange for the support of WagnerIran “considers provide Russia with ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine”.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during the briefing at the White House, November 2, 2023. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP).
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The Pantsir-S1 system
The revelation was made earlier this month by the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, which stated that the Cluster Wagner was preparing to supply Hezbollah he Pantsir-S1a Russian self-propelled anti-aircraft missile and artillery weapons system known as SA-22.
The Wall Street Journal argued that the system Pantsir-S1 would be provided to Hezbollah through Syriaa country that is an ally of Russia.
Since 2015, Vladimir Putin’s regime has helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad crush the civil war that broke out in March 2011.
Chain cnn has also reported that the Wagner Group was commissioned to carry out the delivery of an SA-22 surface-to-air missile system from Syria to Hezbollah.
Two people with knowledge of the information told CNN that Assad agreed to provide Hezbollah that Russian-made missile defense system.
“We will closely monitor whether Wagner provides military equipment to Hezbollah oa Iran“, he claimed kirby. “We are prepared to use our competent anti-terrorist sanctions authorities against Russian individuals or entities that carry out these destabilizing transfers,” he added.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/BYLUCMNZIFA6FMNBJI7KQE6KD4.jpg "How the Wagner Group seeks to provide anti-aircraft defense to Hezbollah or Iran 1")
A man in front of a Wagner Group flag that is on an old tank displayed in the Leninist Komsomol park in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on October 1, 2023. (Photo by STRINGER/AFP).
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The interests of Russia and Iran
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard founded Hezbollah in 1982, in the midst of the civil war in Lebanon, which lasted from 1975 to 1990.
Hezbollah was part of the effort Iran for exporting your Islamic Revolution of 1979 to the entire region of Middle East and fighting Israeli forces after their invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
CNN said this and other actions have reinforced the Russia’s arms relationship with Iran and groups sponsored by the Islamic Republic. That rapprochement has been going on since February 2022, when Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
The United States suspects that Iran is preparing to provide Russia with ballistic missilesthe same ones he showed to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during his visit to Tehran in September, Kirby said on Tuesday.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/RXPT3BFTDFG2TL373Q6AIEPX7Y.jpg "How the Wagner Group seeks to provide anti-aircraft defense to Hezbollah or Iran 2")
Iran’s Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani (right) shakes hands with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on September 20, 2023. (Photo by IRAN’S MINISTRY OF DEFENSE/AFP).
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According to CNN, Wagner and Hezbollah have been operating in Syria for several years, where they work together with the Russian and Syrian Armed Forces to reinforce the regime Al Assad, fighting against the Syrian opposition.
While in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas in Loopthe biggest concern of Israelis is that Hezbollah open a new battle front on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
So much Israel as USA have constantly warned Hezbollah and other groups supported by Iran to stay out of the conflict.
In addition, after the start of the war on October 7, the United States has deployed aircraft carriers and troops to the region as a deterrent.
Despite this, Hezbollah has launched intense attacks against Israel, although for now geographically contained. These have been answered by Israeli forces.
In these exchanges of fire, 77 people on the Lebanese side have died, according to the latest report released on Wednesday by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
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The history of the Wagner Group
He Wagner Group is a private army that gained notoriety in 2014 by supporting pro-Russian rebels in the armed conflict in Ukraine which caused the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
Its founder was the Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhinonce a great ally of the Russian president Vladimir Putin who fell from grace in June of this year for leading a rebellion against the central power of the Kremlin and died on August 23 in a plane crash.
Born in St. Petersburg, Prigozhin became one of the most powerful men in Russia.
He started selling sausages and then became a successful supplier of food, especially to the Russian State.
According to BBC Mundo, he joined Putin’s elite circle in 2001. The president used to dine at Prigozhin’s luxurious floating restaurant located in St. Petersburg, called New Island. Over time, he earned the nickname Putin’s chef.
Before starting in the food business, he was jailed for nine years for theft and fraud.
Although he spent years acting in the shadows and denying his ties to the Wagner Group, Prigozhin acknowledged in September 2022 that he had founded the organization.
The Wagner Group was created in Russia in 2013 like a private military company.
In addition to the war in Ukraine, it has a strong presence in Africawhere according to experts it not only acts as a private army.
“Wagner has evolved over time beyond private military services to become a network of relationships and businesses with companies in several African countries,” analyst Julian Rademeyer of the civil society network recently told the German channel DW. Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GIATOC). “They operate in this gray area between more or less illegal activities, and they cover the whole area well,” he added.
According to Euronews, more than 80% of its members are convicts who were recruited in prisons, and the rest are hired mercenaries.
After the death of PrigozhinWagner members are forced to sign their contracts directly with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/TOOXKTE7CNDMXIC6FIKZMXPUQQ.jpg "How the Wagner Group seeks to provide anti-aircraft defense to Hezbollah or Iran 3")
