Hezbollah, German intelligence chief meet in Beirut

 

BEIRUT – Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, Naim Kassim, and the vice president of Germany’s intelligence service, Ole Diehl, met in Beirut amid growing tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Hezbollah sources confirmed the meeting to dpa following reports in local media.
Further details were initially not known.

Germany’s intelligence service did not provide any more details, explaining it generally does not comment publicly on matters relating to any intelligence findings or activities.

According to local media, the deputy German intelligence chief was accompanied by the director of the German intelligence station in Beirut.

In this context, sources indicated to al-Akhbar, a newspaper very close to Hezbollah, that the discussions in the meeting did not lead to any serious results. It also said the Germans were unable to persuade Hezbollah to cease its operations or to promote the idea of “front separation.”

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been daily military confrontations between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon.

There have been deaths on both sides. Recently the fighting has escalated significantly and there are concerns that the war could spread further across the region and escalate.