Iran has strongly condemned Israel’s recent strikes on Beirut’s densely-populated outskirts as “a blatant violation of Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty”.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei made the remarks on Friday, after the Israeli military conducted aerial assaults on the southern Beirut suburbs of Dahieh on the eve of the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha.
The attacks marked yet another violation of the fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance group.
Baghaei said the guarantors of the truce, including the United States and France, bear responsibility for Israel’s repeated acts of aggression against Lebanon amid the silence and inaction of the United Nations Security Council.
“Undoubtedly, the Zionist regime cannot keep breaking the law so recklessly and violating the principles of the UN Charter and international law without the United States’ green light, as well as its overt and covert support,” he added.
The spokesman also called on the Security Council to take practical action against Israeli attacks.
“The continuation of the Zionist regime’s lawbreaking in the region, along with its assaults on and occupation of Lebanon and other Muslim states, shows that the only way to protect the independence and national sovereignty of countries is to strengthen their defense might and honorable resistance against the regime,” he noted.
Shortly before its strikes, the Israeli military ordered residents living near buildings in Dahieh’s Hadath, Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh neighborhoods to evacuate.
It further claimed that its air raids targeted “underground UAV production facilities” operated by Hezbollah.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun both denounced Israel’s Thursday strikes, with the latter saying they were a “blatant violation of an international agreement, as well as the basic tenets of international and humanitarian laws and resolutions” on the eve of a sacred religious festival.
Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians only a day after Israel unleashed a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, launching numerous retaliatory attacks against targets in the occupied territories.
Nearly 14 months into the conflict, Israel agreed to the ceasefire with Hezbollah after suffering significant losses and failing to achieve its objectives despite killing over 4,000 people in Lebanon.
The ceasefire took effect on November 27. Since then, however, the usurping regime has been carrying out near-daily attacks on Lebanon while occupying positions in the country’s south.
