'Daring': Netizens react as Qalibaf tours Beirut's bombed suburbs, defying Israeli threats

Reactions are pouring in from around the world after Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf visited the site of an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, defying a "no-fly" order from the Israeli regime. 

Qalibaf, at the head of a delegation, arrived at Beirut’s international airport on Saturday. The top Iranian parliamentarian, himself, piloted the flight to Beirut amid the ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.

He reaffirmed Tehran’s commitment to supporting the Lebanese government, nation as well as its resistance movement Hezbollah amid Israel’s escalated aggression on the Arab country.

Qalibaf visited the site of an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut which killed at least 22 people and wounded 117 others on Thursday night. He held talks with the families of those killed and injured in the terrorist attack.

He also visited Beirut’s southern neighborhood of Dahieh, which has been under intense Israeli strikes over the past week.

Canadian journalist and lawyer Dimitri Lascaris said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that after Iran’s latest attack on the occupying entity, Iranian officials “seem almost to be daring Israel to assassinate them.”

“Today, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, came to Beirut. In broad daylight, Ghalibaf visited the wreckage of residential buildings recently demolished by Israel’s genocidal airforce. Last week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also came to Lebanon,” he added.

Hala Jaber, a Lebanese-British journalist also hailed Qalibaf’s visit, criticizing the Arab country’s politicians for not expressing solidarity with the people of these areas.

“It is noteworthy, that it takes Qalibaf, a senior Iranian official visiting Lebanon to actually tour destroyed neighborhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs & the heart of the city, despite real Israeli threats,” Jaber said in a post on X.

“Yet, not a single Lebanese official thought of touring a single such area since Israel’s bombardment began, let alone the tens of thousands of displaced in shelters.”

“Shame on all Lebanese politicians from top to bottom for their lack of solidarity with the actual people of these neighborhoods during war times.,” she added.

“Qalibaf landing his own plane in Beirut and speaking amidst the rubble is the very of steadfastness and bravery contrasted from Americans and Zionists planning our destruction from bunkers and faraway operating rooms. Lebanese should see for themselves who their allies in struggle are,” said another user on X.  

Kathleen Tyson, former central banker & author of Multicurrency Mercantilism: The New International Monetary Order, also hailed as “impressive” the fact that Ghalibaf has defied Israel’s ‘no-fly’ dictat and piloted his plane to Beirut to visit war-torn areas.

“Impressive! Speaker of Iranian Parliament Dr Ghalibaf defied Israel’s ‘no-fly’ dictat and piloted his plane to Beirut to reassure Lebanese of Iran’s support against the Israeli invasion and strikes on civilians. He’s touring bombed out neighborhoods with Lebanese officials,” she said in a post on X.

Another user compared Qalibaf to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who travelled to Baghdad while wearing a bullet-proof vest.

“One could be Ghalibaf, who went to Lebanon in the middle of the rains of the Zionist regime, and was even the pilot of his own plane. One could be the U.S. secretary of state, who went to Baghdad in an anti-pipe vest. We are different,” Shafafar said.

Arya, a researcher and writer also hailed the presence of such a high profile Iranian official in the bombed out suburbs of Beirut “as a sign of power and hope.”

“Iranian’s Parliament Speaker took a tour around the site that was heavily bombarded in the suburbs of Beirut. Qalibaf talked with the people living in that neighborhood, giving them hope and assurance of Iran’s support," he wrote on X.

"The presence of such a high profile Iranian official (the head of Iran’s Legislative branch) is surely a sign of power and hope,” he added.

Another user on X said, “Israel threatens to shoot down any Iranian plane that tries to land at Beirut airport.”

“So Iran's Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, personally piloted the plane carrying the Iranian delegation to Beirut and landed amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes.”

Haidar al-Karrar, journalist and translator, also noted that when the plane carrying Qalibaf landed in Beirut, the area around the airport was under Israeli bombardment.

“This sends a clear message to the enemy that Iran remains steadfast in its unwavering support for Lebanon,” he said on X.

Qalibaf’s visit to Beirut comes as Israeli attacks on Lebanon have taken a deadlier turn over the past weeks. They have claimed the lives of more than 2,000 Lebanese people, including Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

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