Gates: Syria, Iran providing Hezbollah with better arms

Following their meeting at the Pentagon US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with the press.

During the question and answer session Barak was asked:

What did Syria transfer to Hezbollah that has sparked so much concern? Was it Scuds ?

“We feel that the Syrians keep backing the Hezbollah in the — in a damaging way, that they convey to the Hezbollah weapons systems that can turn or disrupt the very delicate balance in Lebanon. And those balance-disrupting weapons systems, including the rockets or missiles, are considered to be a threat to the stability of the region. ” Barak said and added: ” We do not intend to provoke any kind of a major collision in Lebanon or vis-a-vis Syria, as it were mentioned, but we are watching closely these developments and think that they do not contribute to the stability in the region.”

Gates also responded to the question by saying ” I would just say that, from our vantage point, Syria and Iran are providing Hezbollah with rockets and missiles of ever- increasing capability. ” He added: ” And we are at a point now when Hezbollah — where Hezbollah has far more rockets and missiles than most governments in the world. And this is obviously destabilizing for the whole region, and so we’re watching it very carefully. “