Sources told the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent a warning letter to Lebanese President Michel Aoun, urging him to dismantle a factory set up by Hezbollah in the Bekaa region of Lebanon to develop and modernize the missiles before Israel attacks it.
According to the sources, the US message was not conveyed by regular diplomatic means through the US Embassy in Beirut, but was transferred directly to Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who is known for his close ties to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Pompeo told Bassil that Israel had intelligence information about a second missile production plant set up by Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Lebanon should immediately dismantle the second factory, otherwise Israel will attack and destroy it in the coming days,” he said, while adding that the US would support the Israeli attack on Lebanon.
The report comes amid tensions on Israel’s northern border.
Hezbollah earlier this week attacked Israeli military targets in northern Israel. No one was injured.
Israel responded by sending warplanes and artillery to attack 50 targets in southern Lebanon.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)