U.S. accuses Syrians of arming Hezbollah

WASHINGTON – The State Department summoned the senior Syrian diplomat in Washington on Monday to accuse his government of “provocative behavior” in supplying arms to the Iranian-aligned militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

A department statement announcing the complaint was imprecise about the alleged arms deals by the Syrians. It alluded to the transfer to Hezbollah of Scud ballistic missiles but did not say explicitly that Syria was behind such a deal.

Israel’s President Shimon Peres last week directly accused Damascus of providing the missiles, which can carry a warhead of up to one ton, making them far larger than the biggest rockets previously in Hezbollah’s arsenal.

The State Department said deputy chief of mission Zouheir Jabbour was called in to “review Syria’s provocative behavior concerning the potential transfer of arms to Hezbollah.” It went on to say that providing Hezbollah with Scud missiles risked escalating tensions in the region.

Gordon Duguid, a State Department spokesman in whose name the statement was issued, said in an interview that the department was not confirming that a Scud transfer to Hezbollah had taken place. He said the meeting with the Syrian diplomat was conducted to seek answers about Syrian arms deals and to reiterate U.S. concerns.