What If Iran Gives Hezbollah The Bomb And They Bring It Here?

An Iran watchdog group says the country has enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon in just one week. Multiple sources indicate that Iran already did the engineering work to build a weapon and may have already done a cold test of a weapon.

In effect, Iran already has the bomb. The game is over. We cannot stop them.

“We possess every aspect of nuclear weapons technology.”

Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s ex-nuclear chief

"Iran does not need to do a nuclear test to build a nuclear weapon... They designed a program where they could test the components, the subcomponents, and then test the whole assembled device minus the weapons-grade uranium and have a way to know that if that test was successful, which we call a cold test, then the nuclear explosion would actually take place if it was detonated,"

 David Albright, physicist and weapons expert

Sources also point out that Hezbollah, an Iranian-sponsored group, has cells inside the United States and may be able to carry out attacks here on no notice.

Why do we treat these two threats as separate and distinct? Why do we worry about Iran delivering a nuclear weapon via a missile or a bomb dropped by a plane? Why don’t we consider the possibility the bomb will explode here inside the United States and Hezbollah will be the delivery vehicle?

A modern atomic bomb is not that big. Assuming the Iranians have already built weapons, we do not know the exact dimensions. We do know, though, that an American nuclear weapon with ten times the power of the weapons we dropped on Japan measures roughly three feet long and eighteen inches in diameter.

There is no southern border. Millions of people are crossing it without interference. Enough fentanyl comes in every year to kill 100,000 Americans. Are we really supposed to sleep well at night believing something the size of a large suitcase cannot be smuggled in?

“Once the Iranian regime gets access to nuclear weapons, it will most likely provide some of them to its proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. The threat of a nuclear-armed Iran must not be underestimated. Iran's regime has frequently threatened to wipe a whole country -- Israel -- off the map, and is also increasing military cooperation with Venezuela and Cuba to threaten the US. Europe, too, remains a rich target for nuclear blackmail. Iran would not even have to use its nuclear bombs; the threat would be enough.”

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, President of the International American Council on the Middle East.

Hezbollah is not some rag-tag outfit. It operates a military bigger than that of many nation-states. It also has a highly efficient arm called Unit 910 that is specifically designed to operate abroad and plan complex attacks years in advance. In support of such operations Unit 910 caches weapons and explosives, cases targets, and waits for direction from its headquarters.

We do not suspect they are here in the United States. We know they are, and we know they have been here for years.

“Until formally authorized as operatives, members of this unit undergo a lengthy and intricate process of security training. The training is divided into military, intelligence, and ideological categories and takes place in camps in Lebanon, lasting an average of 6 years. Ideological training lasts 6 days, while the remaining training period is dedicated to weapon and explosive handling and intelligence tradecraft. Training camps have the capability of holding field exercises. This makes Hezbollah’s black ops capable of carrying out simultaneous training of multiple operatives. 

Military training includes extensive experience in explosives as well as weapons handling, with drills completing the period. Operatives are taught how to produce and handle explosives like Ammonium Nitrate, as well as training to avoid law-enforcement attraction in gathering needed supplies. Weapons handled include small arms, submachine guns, and shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenade launchers in military drills. Altogether this makes Hezbollah’s black ops operatives experienced in sabotage operations.

Intelligence tradecraft is taught through:

·       Surveillance

·       Counter-surveillance 

·       Communication. 

Training also includes enduring interviews with “foreign intelligence agents”. Agents learn to take photographs and videos without drawing public attention. Operatives gain experience by conducting surveillance on Israeli troop movements in Southern Lebanon and providing intelligence on patterns, behaviours, and vulnerabilities. Additionally, instructors teach operatives communication methodologies through email, using coded messages sometimes labelled as ‘spam’ to convey instructions.”

Grey Dynamics, Unit 910

Iran provides Lebanese Hezbollah with at least $700 million a year. With Iranian help, Hezbollah has amassed an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles in Lebanon. Hezbollah also operates an international network that not only engages in terrorism but ships weapons, explosives, and narcotics all over the world. They can move virtually anything anywhere on the planet undetected.

On our doorstep, Hezbollah enjoys a safe haven in Venezuela where it is allied with Maduro’s regime and makes millions from criminal activity.

“Too often, Hezbollah in Venezuela is characterized as only a potential terrorist threat. In reality, the Lebanese terrorist group has helped to turn Venezuela into a hub for the convergence of transnational organized crime and international terrorism.”

Atlantic Council

Venezuelans by the hundreds of thousands are flooding across our borders. We have no idea how many of these may be Hezbollah operatives provided with false identities by Maduro. Certainly, a large number are criminals belonging to gangs, moving drugs, and operating under the radar. We have no real control over these organizations and are overwhelmed simply trying to keep them from looting our stores and murdering our citizens.

No one can seriously contend that in this environment we have any hope of detecting and interdicting the movement of an object that can fit in the trunk of a sub-compact automobile. What happens if Iran gives Hezbollah an atomic bomb and they bring it here?

You will find out about it when it goes off.