Iran’s Lebanese terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, is expected to remain on the sidelines of Tehran’s war with Israel in the immediate term, following U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday.
The United States attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan—in the first instance of direct American military involvement in the aerial war.
“Iran is a strong country capable of defending itself; logic dictates that it can confront America and Israel,” a Hezbollah spokesperson told Newsweek. “Hezbollah remains committed to all matters agreed upon since the ceasefire.”
However, the spokesperson noted that “the issue remains subject to developments,” leaving open the possibility of Hezbollah’s involvement at a later stage, while again stressing that “Iran certainly has its own military capabilities.”
On Nov. 26, 2024, Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending more than a year of cross-border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah. The terrorist group began attacking Israel in support of Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Since the truce, Israel has carried out frequent operations aimed at preventing Hezbollah from, in violation of the ceasefire agreement, reestablishing its “military” capabilities in Lebanon.
Overnight Friday, an Israeli Navy vessel attacked infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, targeting a site near Naqoura in southwestern Lebanon. The site was being used to facilitate terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and was a clear violation of understandings between Israel and Lebanon, the army said.
Earlier on Friday, the IDF killed the commander of Hezbollah’s firepower array in the Litani sector, in the Chabriha area north of Tyre in southwestern Lebanon.
The Israeli Air Force on Friday conducted additional strikes on Hezbollah sites in Southern Lebanon, targeting rocket and missile launchers as well as weapons storage facilities.
“Despite the attacks carried out by the Israeli enemy,” the Hezbollah spokesperson told Newsweek, “the party has remained committed to the agreement.”
A Hezbollah official told Reuters on June 13 that the group would remain on the sidelines following the launch of Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion,” which targets the Iranian regime’s nuclear and missile capabilities.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday morning warned Hezbollah against joining in the war.
“The Hezbollah Secretary-General [Naim Qassem] has not learned the lessons of his predecessors and is threatening to act against Israel at the direction of the Iranian dictator,” Katz tweeted, referring to past chiefs of the terrorist organization who were slain by the Israeli Air Force in September and October 2024.
“I advise the Lebanese proxy to be cautious and understand that Israel has lost patience with terrorists who threaten it. If there is terrorism—there will be no Hezbollah,” the minister wrote.
Qassem declared on Thursday his group’s support for Tehran in the wake of the severe blows dealt by Israel’s military.
The Lebanese Islamist group is “not neutral, and therefore we express our position alongside Iran, its leadership, and its people, and we will act as we see fit in confronting this brutal Israeli-American aggression,” Qassem said in a statement on Telegram.
“Tyrannical America and criminal Israel will not be able to subjugate the Iranian people and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he continued, according to AFP.
Hezbollah has a duty “to stand by Iran and provide it with all forms of support that contribute to putting an end to this tyranny and oppression,” Qassem added.
Meanwhile, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, who was visiting Beirut on Thursday, met with Hezbollah ally and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and warned him not to get involved in the Israeli-Iranian war.
“I can say on behalf of President Trump … that would be a very, very, very bad decision,” Barrack said.
The U.S. Department of State on Sunday ordered the evacuation of nonemergency government personnel and family members from Lebanon due to the regional security situation, the American embassy in Beirut said.
The notice urged American citizens to “continue to exercise caution and encourage them to monitor the news for breaking developments.”