Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned that any military strike on Iran would also be considered an attack on his Lebanese Shiite terror army, and cautioned that a new war against Tehran would set the Middle East ablaze, AFP reported on Monday.
According to the report, in a televised address to supporters at a solidarity rally for the Islamic Republic, Qassem said Hezbollah and its main backer were facing “aggression that does not distinguish between us. ... [W]e are targeted by any potential aggression and determined to defend ourselves. We will choose at that time how to act … but we are not neutral [and] a war on Iran this time will ignite the region.”
Qassem claimed on Saturday that the Islamic world is facing a “major confrontation” led by the United States and its allies, the Iranian regime’s Press TV reported.
“The Muslim Ummah is confronting a major confrontation spearheaded by the tyrant United States, and supported by the West and savage Zionist regime [Israel],” Qassam was quoted as saying in an address to wounded terrorists.
U.S. envoys meet in Jordan to advance Lebanon-Israel peace
The U.S. embassies in Beirut and Jerusalem said they remain committed to Lebanon and Israel “moving towards a sustainable and effective peace through diplomacy and dialogue,” noting that their ambassadors met in Jordan over the weekend to discuss steps toward a “more peaceful and prosperous region,” according to a statement posted on X on Monday.
IDF strikes Hezbollah terrorist in Southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces struck a Hezbollah terrorist in the Deir Qanoun area in Southern Lebanon on Tuesday, which the military said was in response to the Iranian-backed terror army’s “repeated violations of the ceasefire understandings.”
The Israeli military earlier said it had killed a Hezbollah artillery commander in an airstrike near the Southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Monday, describing him as a key figure in the group’s recent attacks on Israel.
The IDF identified the man as Ali Nour El-Din, saying he had served as the head of an artillery squad in the Al-Harash area of the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
The army said that during the current war, he helped advance “numerous terror attacks” against Israel and its troops, and had recently been working to rebuild Hezbollah’s artillery capabilities in Southern Lebanon.
The IDF said his actions violated understandings between Israel and Lebanon and vowed to continue operating to “remove any threat to the State of Israel.”
On Sunday night, the IDF said it eliminated the local head of artillery for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist army in Arzoun, a village near Tyre.
Muhammad al-Hussein “advanced numerous terror attacks against the State of Israel and IDF troops during the war, and recently took part in attempts to restore Hezbollah’s artillery abilities” the IDF said.
“Simultaneously to his involvement in terrorist activity, al-Husseini worked as a school teacher,” it added.
In a separate strike in the Bir al-Sansal area of Southern Lebanon on Sunday, the IDF killed Jawad Basma, a Hezbollah terrorist “who operated at a weapons manufacturing site,” the statement continued.
“The terrorist’s activities constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” it added. “The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel.”
As part of a wave of strikes across Southern Lebanon on Sunday, the IDF attacked Hezbollah weapons-storage facilities and other “military” infrastructure, the army’s Spokesperson’s Unit stated separately.
One of the strikes targeted “a military structure located in a base” that had been used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force “to advance terror attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel.”
The Radwan Force is the Hezbollah unit tasked with infiltrating Israel, seizing areas along the Jewish state’s northern border and abducting hostages as part of the terrorist group’s “Conquer the Galilee” plan.
Hezbollah started attacking the Jewish state on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel, opening a second front in the nation’s north that lasted until the truce on Nov. 27, 2024.
The ceasefire terms required Hezbollah to disarm, starting in regions adjacent to the border with Israel, with the Lebanese Armed Forces mandated to establish a monopoly over weapons in the country.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, in a Jan. 8 statement, said that while Beirut’s efforts were “an encouraging beginning,” they were “far from sufficient,” given Hezbollah’s ongoing Iran-aided rearmament efforts.
“The ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States between Israel and Lebanon states clearly that Hezbollah must be fully disarmed. This is imperative for Israel’s security and Lebanon’s future,” said Jerusalem.
