Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA)

• The Shiite town of Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli communities of Avivim and Yiron, includes “Iran Park” – dedicated to Hizbullah martyrs and to Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. A statue of Soleimani pointing at Israel one km. away stood atop an observation tower.
• The park also included a replica of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, a museum, an obstacle course, a playground, picnic grounds, and a paintball course. The Dome of the Rock replica is unusual since the original sanctuary in Jerusalem is a Sunni shrine.
• The 5,000 Lebanese residents of Maroun al-Ras proudly accepted their role as Iran’s colonial subjects. Iranian and Hizbullah flags prominently flew over Maroun al-Ras and the Iran Park.
• In October 2010, Iranian President Ahmadinejad visited Maroun al-Ras to dedicate the “Iranian Park.” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Maroun al-Ras on April 26, 2023.
• On May 15, 2011, tens of thousands of Palestinians arrived in 1,000 buses at Maroun al-Ras’s Iran Park to “March to Palestine.” IDF snipers were forced to repel the mobs.
• During Israel’s recent operation in southern Lebanon, the Iran Park in Maroun al-Ras was razed.

During the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces discovered camouflaged and fortified Hizbullah bunkers in Lebanese “nature preserves.” The Hizbullah facilities in the town of Maroun al-Ras were extensive, and the combat was brutal.

But there was reason to believe that there was more than bunkers. In 2007, this author published an analysis warning that Hizbullah was probably building tunnels under the border into Israel. [Mining for trouble in Lebanon: Syrian thuggery, North Korean mining, Iranian colonization, and Nasrallah’s surprise.¹]

Over the next 15 years, Hizbullah pursued a war of attrition with rockets and missiles fired above ground aimed at Israeli towns, farm communities, and military posts across northern Israel. While projectiles were flying overhead, Hizbullah dug an extensive underground network of bunkers, command centers, tunnels, and weapons armories. Observations towers were erected to spy deep into Israeli communities in the north.

In December 2024, the town of Maroun al-Ras was wiped off the map by the Israeli Defense Forces.

The Town of Maroun al-Ras Filled Hizbullah’s Needs

The Shiite town of Maroun al-Ras was located a stone’s throw and a sniper’s shot from Israel’s Avivim and Yiron civilian communities. Built on the site was the “Iran Park” -dedicated to Maroun al-Ras’s “Martyrs” and Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. A statue of Soleimani pointing at Israel one kilometer away stood atop an observation tower. The park also included a replica of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, a museum, an obstacle course, a playground, picnic grounds, and a paintball course. The Dome of the Rock replica is unusual since the original sanctuary in Jerusalem is a Sunni shrine.

Iranian and Hizbullah flags prominently flew over Maroun al-Ras and the Iran Park, and loudspeakers blared the Hizbullah and Iranian anthems.²

Observation towers, bedecked with Iranian and Hizbullah flags, overlooked the border road. And Soleimani’s statue pointed to Israeli communities. ³

The Lebanese Residents of Maroun al-Ras and Alliance with Iran

The 5,000 Lebanese residents of Maroun al-Ras proudly accepted their role as Iran’s colonial subjects. Maroun’s population was predominantly Shiite, and the (Sunni) Dome of the Rock replica looming over Israel’s border was intended for propaganda purposes. The following blurb about the town appeared in an online Lebanese travel promotional site, Lebanon Untravelled.⁴

Iranian Visitors to Maroun al-Ras

In October 2010, Iranian President Ahmadinejad visited Maroun al-Ras to dedicate the “Iranian Park,” which would feature a replica of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Subsequently, the Iranian Garden overlooking Israeli communities was popular with Iranian tourists like these leaders of the Iranian regime.

Ebrahim Raisi visited Lebanon in 2018 and was accompanied by Hizbullah to survey the border with Israel. Raisi served as chief prosecutor in the Tehran district and was nicknamed the “Executioner of Tehran.” He became president of Iran in 2021 and died in a helicopter crash in 2024.

View a video of Raisi’s tour of Hizbullah troops in southern Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Maroun al-Ras on April 26, 2023, where he declared, “We are here today to declare in a loud voice that we support the resistance in Lebanon against the Zionist entity.” Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash on May 19, 2024.

View Amir-Abdollahian’s video in Maroun al-Ras.

On December 9, 2017, Qais al-Khazali, the Baghdad-born commander of the Iraqi Shiite militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq (League of the Righteous), toured southern Lebanon accompanied by Hizbullah commanders. Al-Khazali was an important link in Qassim Soleimani’s “Ring of Fire.”

Next to the border fence, the Iraqi militia commander declared, “I’m here with my brothers from Hizbullah Islamic Resistance. We announce that we’re fully prepared and ready to stand as one with Lebanese people and the Palestinian cause in the face of unjust Israeli occupation.”

Naqba Day, 2011. The Palestinian Invasion Was Launched from Maroun al-Ras

On May 15, 2011, tens of thousands of Palestinians arrived in 1,000 buses at Maroun al-Ras’s Iran Park to “March to Palestine.” Troops from the Lebanese Army feebly attempted to keep them from storming the Israeli border, but the marchers rushed past the soldiers. IDF snipers were forced to repel the mobs from the fences. Who was behind the operation and securing the transportation, if not Hizbullah?

The Maroun al-Ras march served as a prototype for the Gaza “Great March of Return” attacks on Israel’s southern border in 2018-2019. It can be argued the lessons learned by Hamas at the fences were applied on October 7, 2023.

Maroun al-Ras Will Not Rise Again

Across southern Lebanon, Hizbullah – with Iran’s assistance – built a huge army, replete with rockets, missiles, drones, artillery, and guns. No location north of the Haifa-Tiberias line was safe from Hizbullah’s barrages. Finally, after almost 20 years, Israel resoundingly declared, “Enough is enough” and undertook a wide military campaign to clear southern Lebanon of Hizbullah terrorists and their weaponry. Already, in mid-December 2024, thousands of Israeli civilians are returning to their homes in Israel’s north.

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Notes