Iran to call off the dogs?

I’m not sure I believe this:

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was sent to Damascus to urge Hizbullah to curb rocket attacks against Israel and to release two Israel Defense Forces soldiers captured a week ago in order to avoid further escalations, a London-based Arabic daily reported.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that a European country warned Iran that Israel is ready for a confrontation with Syria, which recently signed a defense alliance with Iran.

[…] The report, which was based on leaks by an Iranian presidential aide, said Iran is worried by criticism waged against Hizbullah by an array of Lebanese politicians like Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Saad Hariri, son of slain former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

The trio outspokenly attacked Hizbullah for being Iran’s proxy and condemned as “irresponsible” the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers.

I think this is the real reason for that report:

Forty to fifty percent of Hizbullah’s military capability has been destroyed in the six days of the IDF counter-attack following last Wednesday’s Hizbullah raid in northern Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The IDF, it is understood, believes it needs another week or so minimum to achieve its military goals in terms of alleviating Hizbullah’s capacity to threaten Israel.

Iran knows exactly how much damage Hizbullah has taken. I think this would be Iran’s attempt to rescue the organization from being smashed utterly.

I vote for smashing utterly. Anyone else?

Six rockets fell on Haifa last night:

“Overall, knock on wood, there have been less rockets lately,” Udi Adam, head of Israel’s northern command, told Channel 1 Television.

“We have hit a large part of their weapons arsenal, their anti-aircraft missiles and their rockets. [The operation] will take time, even three to four weeks.”

On Monday night, Hezbollah fired more than 50 rockets, including a barrage which landed after 10 P.M. in the northern towns of Safed, Rosh Pina, Tzivon, Sakhnin, Hatzur Haglilit and Peki’in.

Nine people were wounded in the rocket barrage, including eight hurt when a rocket hit a hospital in Safed.

But their capacity has definitely been diminished. They were firing hundreds of rockets per day, and now it’s down to double-digit figures. Give the IDF another week, and Hezbullah will be mostly destroyed—or at least, their rocket supply will be gone. And a major condition of any cease-fire will be the guarantee that Hezbullah remains rocketless. Dickless can’t be put in the treaty, but their behavior—running into their little ratholes and hiding—has shown us that we don’t need to see it in writing.

Whoops. Did that slip out again? Evil Meryl, stop writing these posts!