'UN tribunal to link Iran's Khamenei to Hariri murder'

According to separate reports, Iranian supreme leader gave order to kill former Lebanese PM; indictment due to be submitted any time.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Hariri, Khamenei meeting 311 (photo credit: AP)
Hariri, Khamenei meeting 311
(photo credit: AP)
A UN tribunal investigating the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is expected to accuse Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei of giving the order to murder Hariri, according to a Saturday report by news website Newsmax.
The report suggested that the investigative body will lay out evidence showing that the murder was committed by Iran's Quds force and their allies, Hizbullah in Lebanon.
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The order to murder Hariri was transmitted to Hizbullah's military leader, Imad Mughniyeh, by Quds force chief Qassem Suleymani, sources told Newsmax.
According to the report, Mughniyeh put together the hit team that carried out the attack, with the help of his brother-in-law.
"The Iranians considered Hariri to be an agent of Saudi Arabia, and felt that killing him would pave the way for a Hizbullah takeover of Lebanon," the sources told Newsmax.
Iran was not the only country involved in the assassination plot, according to the sources that spoke to Newsmax. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and his brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, the head of Syrian intelligence, also played key roles in the plan to murder Hariri, a source was reported as saying.
The UN tribunal intended to submit a draft indictment later in the day Saturday, according to report by Lebanese daily An Nahar.
According to the An Nahar report, the tribunal is set to hand in a draft indictment to Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen in the afternoon on Saturday.