Editing Imad Mughniyeh (section)

==Arrest warrants and attempted assassination==
Various law and [[List of intelligence agencies|intelligence]] enforcement agencies attempted to capture Mughniyeh. The United States tried to secure his capture in France in 1986, but were thwarted by French officials' refusal to arrest him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/defense/231592-fox-hunt-the-search-for-hezbollahs-imad-mughniyeh|title='Fox' hunt: The search for Hezbollah's Imad Mughniyeh|last=Levitt|first=Matthew|date=2015-02-04|website=The Hill|language=en|access-date=2020-04-19|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108111913/https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/defense/231592-fox-hunt-the-search-for-hezbollahs-imad-mughniyeh|url-status=live}}</ref>

The United States tried to capture him several times afterward, beginning with a 1995 US special forces [[Delta Force]] operation that was put in place after the CIA was tipped off that Mughniyeh was flying a [[Middle East Airlines]] [[charter flight]] [[Airbus A310]] from [[Khartoum]] to [[Beirut]] after a meeting with several Hezbollah leaders, and was scheduled to make a stop-over in [[Saudi Arabia]]. But Saudi security officers refused to allow the plane to make its stop-over, thwarting American attempts to arrest Mughniyeh.<ref name="katz">Katz, Samuel M. "Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the manhunt for the al-Qaeda terrorists", 2002</ref><ref name=jeff1july>{{cite news|last=Schnepper|first=Jeff A.|title=Take away the Saudis' oil weapon|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Take+away+the+Saudis%27+oil+weapon.+%28Economic+Observer%29.-a090683552|access-date=25 March 2013|newspaper=USA Today (Magazine)|date=1 July 2002|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305043651/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Take+away+the+Saudis%27+oil+weapon.+%28Economic+Observer%29.-a090683552|url-status=live}}</ref>

The following year, the U.S. Navy planned to seize him from a Pakistani ship in [[Doha, Qatar]], but the operation was called off. The plan, dubbed Operation RETURN OX, was carried out by ships and sailors of Amphibious Squadron Three ([[USS Tarawa (LHA-1)|USS Tarawa]], [[USS Duluth (LPD-6)|USS Duluth]], [[USS Rushmore (LSD-47)|USS Rushmore]]), Marines of the [[13th Marine Expeditionary Unit]], and [[Navy SEAL]]s assigned to the [[U.S. Fifth Fleet]]. The operation was underway, but was cancelled at the last minute when it could not be fully verified that Mughniyeh was on board the Pakistani ship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shadow-warriors/|title=Shadow Warriors|website=CBS News|date=May 2002 |language=en|access-date=2020-01-05|archive-date=25 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025223441/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shadow-warriors/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 10 October 2001, Mughniyeh appeared on the initial list of the FBI's top 22 [[FBI Most Wanted Terrorists|Most Wanted Terrorists]], which was released to the public by President Bush, with a reward of up to $15 million offered for information leading to his arrest.<ref>BBC News, 10 October 2001 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1591997.stm America's 'most wanted terrorists'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206122539/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1591997.stm |date=6 December 2006 }} Retrieved 17 August 2006</ref> The reward was later increased to $25 million.<ref name=ash13feb>{{cite news|title=Imad Mughniyeh: Hezbollah's Phantom Killed|url=http://www.aawsat.net/2008/02/article55259918|access-date=5 April 2013|newspaper=Asharq Alawsat|date=13 February 2008|archive-date=14 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414235031/https://aawsat.com/english|url-status=dead}}</ref> This reward remained outstanding as of 2006.<ref name="FBI">Federal Bureau of Investigation [https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/termugniyah.htm www.globalsecurity.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311224626/http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/termugniyah.htm |date=11 March 2008 }} Accessed 17 August 2006</ref><ref>Rewards for Justice [http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/wanted_captured/index.cfm?page=Mugniyah Imad Fayez Mugniyah] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829004514/http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/wanted_captured/index.cfm?page=Mugniyah |date=29 August 2006 }} Retrieved 17 August 2006</ref> Mughniyeh was on 42 countries' [[wanted list]]s.<ref name=ash13feb/>

The Israeli intelligence service [[Mossad]] made numerous attempts to assassinate Mughniyeh. His brother Fuad, a car shop owner, was killed in a 1994 Beirut [[car bomb]]ing, and another brother, Jihad, was killed in a [[1985 Beirut car bombing|car-bombing assassination attempt]] on the life of Hezbollah founder [[Sheikh Fadlallah]] in 1985, the work of the CIA via the South Lebanese Army. Israel planned to assassinate Mughniyeh when he attended the funeral of his brother Fuad, but he failed to show up.<ref name=mel13feb>{{cite news |last=Melman |first=Yossi |title=Hezbollah terror chief was more wanted than Nasrallah |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/analysis-hezbollah-terror-chief-was-more-wanted-than-nasrallah-1.239249 |access-date=15 March 2013 |newspaper=Haaretz |date=13 February 2008 |archive-date=28 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128114015/http://www.haaretz.com/news/analysis-hezbollah-terror-chief-was-more-wanted-than-nasrallah-1.239249 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Jeffrey Goldberg suggested that Mughniyeh, representing Hezbollah in Lebanon, attended a high-level meeting between Iranian President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] and Syrian President [[Bashar al-Assad]].<ref name=jgoldberg/>