Iran, resistance axis slam Israeli escalation in Lebanon

The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday, one day after Israeli warplanes conducted a wave of airstrikes on the southern Lebanese towns of Kfar Dounin, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, Ayta al-Jabal, Taybeh, and Tayr Debba, killing at least one person and injuring nine others.

The ministry warned about the dangerous consequences of Israel’s impunity and the continuation of its belligerent and expansionist policies on regional peace and security.

“The Zionist regime’s attacks against Lebanon, which have martyred and wounded over a thousand innocent civilians since last year’s ceasefire and destroyed infrastructure and residential areas, are a blatant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the independent country and amount to a heinous crime against international peace and security,” it added.

"These criminal attacks, which are undoubtedly planned and carried out with the United States’ full support and partnership, are yet another indication of the criminal, terrorist, and hegemonic nature of the Zionist regime. Their sole aim is to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty and security and to obstruct the country's reconstruction and development."

The ministry also condoled with Lebanon over the martyrdom of its citizens during the savage Israeli attacks.

It further emphasized Iran’s solidarity with the Lebanese government and people in the face of criminal Israeli acts of aggression, reaffirming that the Islamic republic supports Lebanon’s legitimate resistance and efforts towards safeguard own sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.

The Israeli military claimed that it had targeted military installations belonging to the Hezbollah resistance movement in its aerial assaults.

However, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun denounced the strikes as a “fully fledged crime” under international law.

“The more Lebanon expresses its openness to the path of peaceful negotiation to resolve outstanding issues with Israel, the more Israel intensifies its aggression against Lebanese sovereignty,” he wrote on X.

The Israeli aggression came hours after Hezbollah sent an open letter to the Lebanese nation and top three leaders saying that while it was committed to the 2024 ceasefire, it still had a “legitimate right” to resist the Israeli occupation.

Israel launched its aggression against Lebanon in October 2023 in response to Hezbollah’s pro-Palestinian airstrikes against the occupied territories.

The regime, however, agreed to the truce after failing to stop the resistance operations and cripple Hezbollah as it had sought.

Since the ceasefire began on November 27, 2024, Israel has breached it hundreds of times and carried out near-daily fatal strikes on Lebanon.