Iran on Friday fiercely slammed a series of Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, targeting a crucial stronghold belonging to its close ally, Hezbollah. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei immediately asserted that the attacks constituted a “blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon reported on Thursday that the Israeli military actions killed one person and injured seven civilians, although Israel confirmed only targeting Hezbollah and its allied groups. Furthermore, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun specifically condemned the attacks for striking civilian facilities, describing the strikes as a complete breach of the truce negotiated between Hezbollah and Israel last year.
Tehran provides Hezbollah with crucial backing, but recent hostilities with Israel significantly weakened the group. Coupled with this strategic setback, the overthrow of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad eliminated the essential overland link connecting Hezbollah to Iran. This weakening, consequently, hit Iran directly; Israeli and US forces also struck Iran’s own nuclear facilities during a 12-day conflict with Israel earlier this year.
Pressure on Truce Guarantors
Hezbollah and Israel initially agreed to a truce in November, following over a year of intense hostilities which finally culminated in two months of destructive, open warfare. Nevertheless, reports indicate that the Israeli military has repeatedly bombed Lebanese territory since the agreement took effect.
Because of these repeated actions, spokesman Baqaei openly accused France and the United States, the truce’s official guarantors, of showing “continued inaction and appeasement” toward Israel despite the clear violations of the negotiated peace agreement.
