Hizbullah's Threats.

At Mughniyeh's funeral, Nasrallah on Feb. 14 threatened to strike at Israeli targets in various parts of the world, in what he called an "open war". In a fiery eulogy delivered by video linkup at the funeral, an angry Nasrallah told those gathered that Mughniyeh's assassination would only bolster the movement's resolve. Hinting that Hizbullah's retaliation could start within days, he warned that the killing had changed the parametres of the conflict with Israel, taking the fight beyond Lebanon's borders. He said: "You have killed Hajj 'Imad outside the natural battlefield. With this murder, its timing, location and method - Zionists, if you want this kind of open war, let the whole world listen: Let this war be open".

Nasrallah spoke from an unkown location amid fears Israel will try to kill him. His image appeared on a giant screen in the funeral hall in south Beirut's Roueis district packed with thousands of Hizbullah supporters, who waved their fists, chanting "At your orders, Nasrallah". Mughniyeh's coffin lay draped in a Hizbullah flag with an honour guard of guerrilla fighters. Adopting some of his strongest language towards Israel, Nasrallah said the blood of Mughniyeh would "hopefully erase them [Israel] from existence". His speech was occasionally interrupted by chanting from the crowd.

The slain commander's importance to Iran's Shi'ite theocracy was underscored as Mottaki read out a letter of condolence from President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed Mughniyeh as a "great man".

Nasrallah fired a warning shot across the bow of his pro-West Lebanese political opponents, the March 14 Forces, warning them: "Lebanon will never be Israel, Lebanon will never be American. Lebanon will remain a country of resistance".

The March 14 Forces blame Hizbullah for leaving Lebanon without a president since Nov. 23, 2007, and with a paralysed parliament. They say they are resisting Hizbullah's attempt to sweep Lebanon into the Iran-led "axis". Hizbullah has vowed that the country will not fall under US influence.

Israel is anticipating Hizbullah attacks. Israeli officials said the stridency of Nasrallah's remarks showed how rattled the Hizbullah leader was. The FT on Feb. 15 quoted an Israeli official as saying of Nasrallah: "He is in a tight spot". Israeli analysts said the killing could strain Hizbullah's relations with the Syrian regime, as questions were being raised over how Mughniyeh's safety was compromised. There are still question marks about the Syrian regime's security system, breached by Israel on Sept. 6, 2007, when its air force destroyed a site deep inside Syria which Israeli and US experts later said was being built as a nuclear reactor relocated from North Korea.

Nasrallah insisted that the killing was a continuation of the 2006 war, in which Hizbullah stood up to a month-long Israeli offensive. Nasrallah then called Hizbullah's victory over Israel "divine", with the movement's name in Arabic meaning "the Party of God" and its system being a Ja'fari Shi'ite theocracy.

Earlier on Feb. 14 the March 14 Forces and their supporters had gathered to mourn their own martyr, Rafiq Hariri, whose murder they blame on Damascus - although Syria has always denied involvement. Hariri and Mughniyeh, however, had little in common. Mughniyeh was condemned locally as a "killer" and "destroyer" and was wanted in many parts of the world. Hariri, who was also a national of Saudi Arabia where he had built his business empire with close links to the royal family, was an internationally admired billionaire and architect of Lebanon's reconstruction after its 1975-1991 civil war. His death became a symbol of Lebanon's struggle with the Assad regime.

A statue of Hariri was unveiled at the spot where he was killed by a massive car bombing on Feb. 14, 2005. A taped message broadcast from Hariri's widow, Nazek, who lives in Paris, urged against "falling into hatred" and calling on "unity to save the country". Recordings of church bells and the Muslim call to prayer were played as a sign of unity. But despite the gestures of unity, the scene on the ground was different. The crowd beat drums and cheered as speakers lashed out at the opposition, which they accuse of seeking to re-establish Syrian control in Lebanon.

Hundreds of thousands of March 14 backers massed in Martyrs' Square and at Hariri's nearby gravesite, waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader. Speaking from a podium shielded by bullet-proof glass, Sa'd Hariri, the slain PM's son and now leader of the anti-Syria majority in parliament, vowed that Syria "will not be able to take over Lebanon". He called Assad's regime an "Israeli product". The same accusation was made against March 14 Forces by Assad on Aug. 15, 2006, one day after Hizbullah's war with Israel ended.

Hariri said: "Lebanon's enemies are trying to assassinate our country. Israel tried to do so in 2006 and so did the Israeli product known as the Syrian regime. This regime has been at truce with Israel for the last 34 years, preventing the Syrian people from launching any form of resistance to liberate the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. This regime is dividing the Palestinians and trying to drag the resistance in Lebanon into a civil war which will destroy the country".

Referring to a planned Arab League summit in late March in Damascus, Hariri said "there will be no value to any summit in the absence of a Lebanese president". Hariri told "national partners" to end the presidential vacuum by electing the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Gen Michel Suleiman.

The LAF took exceptional security measures from Feb. 13 and stretched its presence to cover different areas in Beirut during the rally, blocking main roads in Beirut to prevent demonstrators from walking into opposition strongholds. The measures took into account people coming from different areas in and outside Beirut to participate in the mass funeral of Mughniyeh.

Beirut was virtually closed for the long-planned rally, with shops and restaurants shuttered and most streets blocked. March 14 supporters streamed into the vast central square, some with Lebanese flags painted on their faces, some holding posters of Hariri.

Speaking to the crowd Druze MP and March 14 leader Walid Jumblatt accused Assad's regime of having killed Mughniyeh. Jumblatt, a sharp critic of Hizbullah as well as of Assad's regime and Iran's Shi'ite theocracy, said the March 14 Forces would not succumb to what he called opposition efforts to deliver Lebanon "to the Iranian-Syrian black evil world". In his speech, Nasrallah responded to Jumblatt's earlier statement that the March 14 Forces were divorcing from the opposition, by saying: "then let him leave Lebanon and go to live in the US with his masters".

Many had expected the Feb. 14 rally to set off violent confrontations with Hizbullah, especially after Jumblatt and Hariri had made war-like comments in the previous week. But both gatherings went peacefully. The New York Times quoted Kamil Haydar, 26, who was at the rally in Martyrs Square, as saying: "The crisis could be solved through politics. But if it is not, we are going to do what we have to even if it is war, and if it is what our leaders want us to do, then we are ready to go to war".

While Hizbullah depicted Mughniyeh as a national hero, the mood among its opponents was strikingly different. The FT quoted a young March 14 supporter as saying: "Who is this Mughniyeh, I've never heard of him. He's not a national figure, he was a criminal". State Department spokesman McCormack said: "Quite clearly Hizbullah has a long record of carrying out violent acts, acts of terrorism around the globe".

The US marked Hariri's murder by reiterating support for the March 14 Forces. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the March 14 Forces: "The US shares your sorrow, but also your hope. Our commitment to you and your chosen government is unshakeable. We and the international community will not rest until your calls for peace, justice and freedom have been answered". Rice pledged to double the US contribution to fund the UN tribunal investigating Hariri's death to $14m.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked the event by reaffirming the world body's resolve to help Beirut bring those responsible for the murders to justice. A UN statement said Ban "continues with determination to prepare for the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, convinced that impunity must not prevail and that the tribunal process cannot be reversed". Ban spokeswoman Michele Montas said: "This solemn anniversary comes at a perilous moment for Lebanon. The Secretary-General believes there could be no greater homage paid to the memory of Rafiq Hariri than for the parties in Lebanon to redouble their efforts to achieve national reconciliation and to ensure the stability, security and prosperity for which Rafiq Hariri worked so hard during his lifetime".