Report: Nasrallah Irked after Satterfield Shows Pics of 'Missile Plants'

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah escalated his rhetoric in his latest speech after Lebanese officials relayed to him a U.S. message that “the precision missile bases that were transferred from Syria to Lebanon have become known and exposed by the Israelis,” a Lebanese official source says.

“U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield is the one who conveyed the information to Lebanese officials in his latest visit to Beirut last week coming from Israel, as part of the mediation mission that Washington has agreed to conduct in order to secure an agreement on the demarcation of land and maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel under the U.N.’s sponsorship,” the source told al-Hayat newspaper in remarks published Sunday.

“Satterfield and another U.S. official showed President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Army Commander General Joseph Aoun pictures and maps of what he said are the location of these missiles,” the source added.

And while the source did not say whether the pictures and maps relate to Lebanon-based missile development factories or to missile deployment posts, he clarified that “the U.S. delegation did not link between the issue of missiles and the issue of the demarcation of the land and maritime borders.”

Noting that the Israelis and Americans likely believe that the alleged missile plants are located on the Lebanese-Syrian border, the source said Satterfield warned Lebanese officials that Washington “cannot but take the photographed and specific information into consideration” and that “it might not manage to rein in the Israeli side if it decides to carry out a certain response against these missiles.”

Nasrallah on Friday rejected what he called U.S. conditions for mediating the border and maritime dispute with Israel.

Nasrallah said in a speech that Washington is "using the talks" to discuss, and even make threats over, degrading his group's capabilities, bringing up an Israeli claim that Hizbullah has precision missile factories.

Nasrallah acknowledged his group has the weapons but denied it produces them. "So far in Lebanon there are no factories for precision missiles," he said.

He threatened for the first time, however, that Hizbullah could consider setting up such factories if Washington continues to use the talks on border demarcation to discuss his group's capabilities.

He said it is Lebanon's right to defend itself. "The Americans have no business with this. It is our right to have weapons to defend our countries and it is our right to manufacture any weapons."

Satterfield has been shuttling between Israel and Lebanon, technically still at war, to settle the dispute. Lebanon's foreign ministry said earlier this week that it and Israel are close to establishing a framework for negotiations under United Nations auspices and overseen by Washington on demarcating the borders. The demarcation is essential for Lebanon to access oil and gas resources.

Israel said it's willing to engage in the U.S.-mediated talks.

Israel and Lebanon each claim some 860 square kilometers of sea as within their own exclusive economic zones.

Nasrallah said he is supportive of the Lebanese government's positions in the talks.

"My problem is allowing such discussion (of Hizbullah's capabilities)" he said.

"This door must be closed," he urged.