Last week in Damascus, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad conducted what some analysts are calling a “council of war.”

We reported on President Ahmadinejad’s visit with Syrian President Bashar Assad last Friday. Since then, it has become clear that the scope of the meeting extended well beyond Iranian-Syrian relations; over the course of the day, President Ahmadinejad also met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, leaders of Hamas, and other Palestinian militant groups.

debkafile’s military sources, identifying the personnel present and where they convened, believe the weekend was nothing less than a war council for Middle Eastern terrorism:

Aboard his [Ahmadinejad’s] plane were four Hezbollah leaders, Secy-Gen. Hassan Nasrallah, defense chief Imad Mughniyeh, chief of staff Ibrahim Aqil and chief of special operations Unit 1800 Hajj Khalil Harb; and Jihad Islami’s Abdallah Ramadan Shalah and operations chief Zaid Nahle. …

[M]ilitary sources reveal that 20 high-ranking Iranian officers were on the Iran president’s flight to Damascus, headed by Defense Minister Mustafa Najar. They did not join Ahmadinejad’s talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Instead, they were driven to Syrian General Staff headquarters, where they were awaited by Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Hassan Turkmani, chief of staff Gen. Ali Habib and corps commanders.

Our intelligence sources believe this conference was in fact round one of the council of war which continued in Tehran Friday with Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist chiefs.

Given that the region exists a breath away from war, these meetings are an ominous sign. Knesset member Arye Eldad, a member of the foreign affairs and defense committee, views the agreements Iran and Syria made in the same light as the Arab treaties preceding the 1967 Six Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War: “This will lead to attacks on Israel from Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Iran.”

Iran is certainly prepared to back any upcoming fighting financially and militarily. London-based Arab newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that Syria and Iran made an arms deal during the weekend. In exchange for Assad’s pledge to break off any peace talks with Israel, Iran will provide the money for 400 Russian T-72 tanks, 18 MiG-31 planes, eight Sukhoi fighters, helicopters, and other equipment totaling about $1 billion. In addition, Iran has agreed to help Syria with its own nuclear program, build missile factories, and provide Iranian military equipment.

Plus, President Ahmadinejad is speaking in terms of war himself. At a press conference, he said, “We hope the summer will bring victories to the region’s nations and failure to their enemies.” Victory requires fighting—and it seems Iran may be ready to move beyond stirring regional discontent into outright warfare. Iran is already driving Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas and other regional terrorist groups; an outbreak of war—commanded by Iran—could be here before summer is out. For more information on Iran’s increasing control of the Middle East, read The King of the South.