Soleimani Reveals Details of Role He Played in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War

 Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
TT

Soleimani Reveals Details of Role He Played in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War

 Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

The Iranian State TV broadcast on Tuesday an exclusive interview with Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani, who has given an insight on his role in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

This is the first interview of Soleimani, who is in charge of foreign operations especially in Syria and Iraq.

During the 90-minute interview, Soleimani gave details of his role in Lebanon in advising ‘Hezbollah’ during the 34-day war. He came to Lebanon accompanied by Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyeh who was later assassinated in 2008.

Mughniyeh was considered the engineer of the 2006 war, which killed 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis.

Soleimani spoke about the incident that triggered the war, represented in a group from Hezbollah managing to “attack a vehicle of the Zionists, inside the occupied lands and captured two wounded persons from inside the vehicle as hostages” on July 12.

After one week of his arrival to Lebanon, he traveled to Iran to brief Khamenei on the updates in Lebanon -- Soleimani returned on the same day with a message to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

The Major General remained in the country until the end of the war. He didn’t mention the presence of other Iranians and only narrated his personal experience during the interview.

He also recounted how, under Israeli bombardment of Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, he and Mughniyeh moved out Nasrallah from his "operations room" where they were based, and then they returned to the command center.

The interview, which was carried out by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office, came days after it published a photo showing Nasrallah next to Khamenei and Soleimani, in an apparent recent meeting between the three in Tehran.



Woman Detained after Shooting Outside CIA Headquarters

The logo of the US Central Intelligence Agency is shown in the lobby of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia March 3, 2005. REUTERS/Jason Reed JIR/File Photo
The logo of the US Central Intelligence Agency is shown in the lobby of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia March 3, 2005. REUTERS/Jason Reed JIR/File Photo
TT

Woman Detained after Shooting Outside CIA Headquarters

The logo of the US Central Intelligence Agency is shown in the lobby of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia March 3, 2005. REUTERS/Jason Reed JIR/File Photo
The logo of the US Central Intelligence Agency is shown in the lobby of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia March 3, 2005. REUTERS/Jason Reed JIR/File Photo

Security guards opened fire on a woman who drove toward the gates of the CIA's headquarters near Washington, D.C. on Thursday, ignoring orders to stop, and she was then taken into custody, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a check of public records showed the suspect, identified as a young US citizen, had a history of driving under the influence.
A CIA spokesperson said earlier that security staff "engaged a person" outside the main gates and then arrested the suspect.
The spokesperson declined to say whether gunfire struck the suspect.
The source familiar with the matter also did not say whether the woman was hit but that she was in stable condition after the incident, which occurred at around 4 a.m. (0800 GMT).
NBC News reported earlier that the suspect was shot, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
The woman drove into the main entrance through the outbound lane, and when security guards tried to stop her she evaded them and continued toward the gate, drawing their fire, the source told Reuters.
The vehicle never entered the CIA compound, and no security officers were hurt, according to the source.
The FBI was investigating the incident, the source said.
The CIA closed the main gate at its Langley compound and directed employees to seek alternate routes.
The shooting incident came after two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed by a lone gunman in downtown Washington on Wednesday night.
The source said there was no sign of a connection between the two incidents.