Syria confirms listening in on IDF with Iran's help

      Israeli officials' reported comments that Tehran has been building listening stations in Syria to intercept Israeli military communications were confirmed in Damascus but denied by Iran, an Arab newspaper said Thursday. A Syrian member of parliament, Mohammed Habash, told the pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat that the listening stations in Syria were no secret. "Syria is doing all it could to defend its territory and is turning to military experts for help," said Habash, who heads parliament's Syrian-Iranian relations committee. "We are still at war with Israel. We have the right to defend our borders with all means within international law," Habash added. The real objective of Syrian cooperation with Russia, China and Iran is to protect the country's borders, the lawmaker said. Israeli security officials reportedly said Iran has built a number of listening stations in Syria months ago. "I want to tell the Israelis that they do not really know what Syria has. Their expectations may be far below what is being done in Syria to face any foolishness that Israel may commit," Habash said. On Tuesday, top security officials said Israel is taking new precautions because of the listening stations. Israel Defense Forces top brass won't be allowed to bring their mobile phones into rooms where classified information is being discussed, the officials said. Also, IDF generals will be assigned special areas on bases to conduct personal conversations. That way, listening stations won't be able to hear sensitive conversations that might be going on in the background while generals talk on their cellular phones, they explained. Despite Syria's confirmation, the media advisor at the Iranian embassy in Damascus denied reported Israeli official statement about Iranian-built listening stations in Syria. "This is not the first time that Israeli sources give false news," the embassy official told al-Sharq al-Awsat. "How could Iran build those stations in Syria? Which company built them? We have no capabilities to do this in Syria," the unnamed official said. Any cooperation between Syrian and Iranian private firms in telephone and cell phone projects is taken by Western media to be listening stations, the diplomat said. "But if Syria built listening stations, then it would have the right to in the same way Israel does," he added. Military officials say Iran helped Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas pick up Israeli radio communications during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Several months ago, all radio communications were ordered to be encrypted, security officials said. (21,43)