Iranian Volunteers Head To Lebanon To Fight Israelis
Josephine Roque - All Headline News Staff Writer Israel (AHN) - A group of more than 60 Iranian volunteers ranging from teens to grandfathers have decided to head to Lebanon via Syria. They claim to want to be part of the holy war against Israeli forces. Iran and Syria,the main supporters of Hezbollah, will not be sending forces to Lebanon. Although they are not stopping volunteer guerrillas to join the violence. The volunteers were not toting weapons, and it is still not sure whether Turkey would let them cross. A Turkish Foreign Ministry official told the AP it would not say if they would be allowed to cross but Iranians can enter Turkey without a visa and stay for three months. "We are just the first wave of Islamic warriors from Iran," said Amir Jalilinejad, chairman of the Student Justice Movement, a non government group that helped recruit the fighters, reports the AP. "More will come from here and other Muslim nations around the world. Hezbollah needs our help." Nearly every Iranian man is knowledgeable of basic military training because it is mandatory. A 72-year-old Hasan Honavi, even has real experience fighting the 1980-88 war with Iraq. "God made this decision for me," Honavi, a grandfather and one of the oldest volunteers, told AP. "I still have fight left in me for a holy war." "We cannot stand by and watch out Hezbollah brothers fight alone," said Komeil Baradaran, a 21-year-old Basij |