Iran has warned Israel about the consequences of waging an all-out war on Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance group.
Iran's mission to the UN said in a statement on Friday that Israel would be the “ultimate loser” of any military action against Lebanon.
“Undoubtedly, this war will have one ultimate loser, which is the Zionist regime. The Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah, has the capability to defend itself and Lebanon – perhaps the time for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime has come,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said.
The statement said Hezbollah is capable of defending both itself and Lebanon.
It also warned that any action by Israel against Lebanon could plunge the region into a new conflict.
“Any imprudent decision by the occupying Israeli 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 that of the 1948 occupied territories,” the statement noted.
The Israeli regime and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire along Lebanon’s southern border almost on a daily basis since the Gaza onslaught began on October 7.
The tensions have flared over the past week especially after Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander last week.
The exchange of fire has intensified following the Israeli assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Sami Taleb Abdallah.
The movement has retaliated by firing hundreds of rockets into the northern parts of the occupied territories.
Hezbollah says its operations are meant to support the Gaza resistance and to put pressure on the regime to stop the genocide in Gaza, which has so far left over 37,400 Gazans dead, most of them women and children.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army said it had approved plans for an attack on Lebanon, raising concerns that the regime might carry out threats that it will turn Lebanon into another Gaza.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed that "no place" in the Israeli-occupied territories would "be spared our rockets" if a wider war began.
Nasrallah emphasized that an incursion into the Galilee region remains an option on the table should Israel invade southern Lebanon.
He also said they would attack any other country in the region that assisted Israel in the war effort, citing Cyprus, which has hosted Israeli forces for training exercises.