Former Central Intelligence Agency officer Hezbollah’s naming of several agents a “serious blow” to the United States.

Former Central Intelligence Agency officer, Rober Baer, said that Hezbollah’s naming of several agents and the agency’s Beirut Station Chief was a “serious blow” to the United States.

Talking to the English-written Lebanese newspaper, Daily Star, Baer said the resistance unmasking of the agency’s spies “is a serious blow to the US’ ability to gather intelligence”.

The former CIA officer described Hezbollah as the “sophisticated enemy”, saying he “has enormous abilities” and "he can do whatever we can imagine".

Baer also talked about an apparent “intensifying covert war between the West and Iran”.
“There’s obviously an espionage war going on in Iran. And to lose an asset in the middle of a war like this, I think it’s catastrophic.”

Al-Manar TV uncovered, last week, the identity CIA station chief in Beirut, along with his predecessor and three CIA officers as well as the nicknames of five other operators.

The report said that the agents were assigned to recruit Lebanese spies tasked with gathering information on Hezbollah’s arms depots, officials and Mujahedeen as well as the addresses of their residences.

Few days before al-Manar’s report, the Islamic Republic of Iran also unveiled a CIA network comprising 30 agents.

Baer, who operated in Lebanon in the 1980s, was tasked to follow the resistance commander Martyr Imad Moghneyyeh. However, the former agent couldn’t track the commander Moghneyyeh, and he confessed of “a complete failure” in this issue.