Israel says it will soon “take the necessary decisions” to confront the Iran-allied Lebanese group.
Iran says Hezbollah is capable of defending itself and Lebanon, warning Israel it would be the “ultimate loser” in an all-out war with the Lebanese armed group.
Tehran's statement on Friday came as fears of a major Israeli offensive in Lebanon continued to grow.
“Any reckless decision by the Israeli occupying regime to save itself could plunge the region into a new war, the consequence of which would be the destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure, as well as the territories occupied in 1948,” Iran's mission to the United Nations said. . in a post on social media.
“Without a doubt, this war will have a final loser, which is the Zionist regime. The Lebanese Resistance Movement, Hezbollah, has the ability to defend itself and Lebanon; “perhaps the time has come for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime.”
Israel also issued a threat to Iran-aligned Hezbollah on Friday, with Foreign Minister Israel Katz saying “we will soon make the necessary decisions” to confront the Lebanese group.
“The free world must unconditionally support Israel in its war against the axis of evil led by Iran and extremist Islam. Our war is also your war,” Katz said.
Israel cannot allow the terrorist organization Hezbollah to continue attacking its territory and its citizens, and we will make the necessary decisions soon. The free world must unconditionally support Israel in its war against the axis of evil led by Iran and extremist Islam. Our…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 21, 2024
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said this week that if the Israeli army goes to war in Lebanon, his group will use its rockets and drones to attack targets throughout Israel. He warned that Hezbollah would wage a war “without restrictions, without rules and limits.”
Nasrallah also threatened Cyprus, a member of the European Union located in the eastern Mediterranean, west of the Lebanese and Israeli coasts. He said the group has information that Israel is conducting military exercises in Cyprus on terrain similar to southern Lebanon.
Nasrallah added that Israel plans to use airports and bases in Cyprus for military purposes if its own infrastructure is attacked during a serious war.
“Opening Cypriot airports and bases for the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon means that the Cypriot government has become part of the war, and the resistance will address it as part of the war,” he said without elaborating.
Cyprus said Nasrallah's threat is not based on reality and emphasized that the country enjoys excellent relations with Lebanon.
Still, Hezbollah's statement exacerbated concerns about an even larger regional war that could spread beyond Lebanon's borders and draw groups allied with Iran – if not Tehran itself – as well as the United States into the conflict.
Hezbollah began attacking military bases in northern Israel the day after the war in Gaza broke out on October 7 in what it says is a “support front” to back Palestinian groups. Israel responded by bombing southern Lebanese villages and Hezbollah positions.
While near-daily clashes have displaced tens of thousands of people in Lebanon and Israel, they have largely been limited to border areas.
But violence has increased in recent weeks, especially after an Israeli airstrike killed a top Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon last week.
On Friday, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several military operations against Israel, including a drone attack it said targeted Israeli forces at a coastal base on the western side of the border.
The United States has pushed for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, while expressing concern about Hezbollah attacks. “We have made it quite clear that we do not want to see an escalation of this conflict,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Thursday.
For its part, Hezbollah has said it will continue operations against the Israeli army until Israel ends its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians.
