BEIRUT: The renewed speculation on the potential use of chemical weapons in Syria’s civil war has taken a twist toward Hezbollah with Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. warning that a “red line” will be crossed if the Lebanese resistance group receives such weapons from the regime of President Bashar Assad. Michael Oren said in a recent interview with Fox TV that he could not confirm that Hezbollah has acquired chemical weapons from the Assad regime, but added that it would be a “game changer.”

 

“We have a very clear red line about these chemical weapons passing into the wrong hands,” he said. “Can you imagine if Hezbollah and its 70,000 rockets would get its hands on chemical weapons? That could kill thousands of people.” This is not the first instance of accusations or speculation that Hezbollah may have received chemical weapons. As long ago as 2003, some of the more breathless Western media outlets were claiming that Hezbollah was a recipient of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction smuggled into Syria prior to the U.S.-led invasion in March that year. [Link]