Iran in Lebanon & Hizbullah Guarding Syria

Iranian General Confirms that South Lebanon Is Under Iran's Influence (Daily Star-Lebanon)
    The head of Iran's Al-Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards Corp, Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, said Wednesday in Tehran:
    "In reality, in south Lebanon and Iraq, the people are under the effect of the Islamic Republic's way of practice and thinking."
    Mustafa Alloush, a former Lebanese MP, said Suleimani's remarks have "confirmed what we have been saying over the past years, that Hizbullah is part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard."

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Hizbullah Guarded Assad During Rally Appearance - Yousef Diab (Asharq Al-Awsat-UK)
    Lebanese Future movement Secretary-General Ahmad Hariri said in an interview that "when Bashar al-Assad appeared in the midst of supporters in Umayyad Square [in Damascus]... he was being guarded by members of the Hizbullah security apparatus."
    "More than 200 cars, in addition to a bus full of passengers, traveled from Lebanon to Syria, to secure the pro-Assad demonstration during Bashar al-Assad's appearance."
    Hariri also stressed that "large regions of Syria are outside of the control of the regime."
    See also Hizbullah, Iran Preparing for "Day after" Assad - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post< /I>)
    Hizbullah and Iran are preparing for the "day after" in the event that President Bashar Assad's regime is toppled.
    "The assessment that Hizbullah will be severely impacted by Syria's downfall is unlikely since it will be able to fill the vacuum with assistance directly from Iran," a senior Israeli defense official explained.
    According to IDF Military Intelligence, Hizbullah is currently providing assistance to Assad in the form of weapons, instructors and actual fighters who are assisting the Syrian military in its efforts to quell the resistance.
    On Sunday, Al-Arabiya reported Hizbullah forces were deployed in Syria to protect a military base where Iranian soldiers were deployed after it was attacked by anti-government protesters.

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Saudi Capacity Seen Sufficient to Cover Oil Sanctions on Iran (Bloomberg-Gulf Times-Qatar)
    Saudi Arabia has the capacity to make up for Iranian oil exports to Europe should the region's leaders go ahead with an embargo, according to the International Energy Agency and the Centre for Global Energy Studies.
    The kingdom has unused daily production of 2.2-2.5 million barrels. The EU bought 450,000 bpd from Iran in the first half of 2011, U.S. Energy Department data show.