Daybreak: An Arming for An Arming

• Iran’s nuclear program has prompted the United States to increase the flow of arms, particularly anti-missile weapons and technology, to its nearby allies. It has also moved two cruisers to the Gulf. [WSJ]
• A top Hamas guy was found dead, mysteriously, in a Dubai hotel room; he was a crucial weapons middleman between Iran, on the one hand, and Hamas as well as Hezbollah on the other. Israel said it suspects this will slow arms smuggling, at least for a time. [LAT]
• That said, a U.S. diplomat told a London Arabic-language newspaper that the amount and types of weapons currently making their way to Hezbollah threatens to destabilize southern Lebanon and its Israeli border. [Haaretz]
• Prime Minister Netanyahu favors an independent probe into Israeli targeting of civilians during last January’s Gaza conflict, but he has so far held off due to the vociferous opposition of Defense Minister Ehud Barak as well as the military. [Haaretz]
• It was revealed that CIA Director Leon Panetta semi-secretly visited Israel last week to talk Iran and “relations.” Reports also placed him in Cairo. [Laura Rozen]
• On February 11th—the 31st anniversary of the Iranian Revolution—Iran will retaliate against “global arrogance,” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged. This will also be the first revolutionary anniversary since last summer’s election and opposition movement, so actually, A’jad’s as excited as we are. [Press TV Iran/Vos Iz Neias?]