Tehran:
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian strongly criticized Israel’s air strikes on the heavily populated southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday, labeling it as a “blatant war crime.”
In a statement reported by the official IRNA news agency early Saturday, Pezeshkian condemned the attacks carried out by the Zionist regime in the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut, stating that it exposed the state terrorism carried out by this regime.
Israel claimed that the strikes targeted the “central headquarters” of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, an ally of Iran.
Pezeshkian affirmed Iran’s support for the Lebanese nation and the axis of resistance in the wake of the attacks. The air strikes in Beirut on Friday were the most severe since Israel shifted its focus from Gaza to Lebanon, resulting in significant casualties.
The Iranian embassy in Lebanon characterized the strikes as a “dangerous escalation” in the Middle East.
In a post on X, the embassy warned that this reprehensible act signifies a dangerous shift in the dynamics of the region, and Israel will face consequences for its actions.
The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the “brutal” strike, stating that it exposed the insincerity of the US-led ceasefire call issued prior to the attack.
Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani declared that the ceasefire call was a ploy to provide Israel with time to continue its oppression of the Palestinian and Lebanese people.
Hezbollah engaged in fighting with Israeli forces along the Lebanon border following an attack by its ally Hamas on October 7.
(This article is unaltered except for the headline and has been published directly from a syndicated feed.)