BEIRUT: A Hezbollah official told AFP on Wednesday that the Lebanese movement would not intervene militarily in the event of &quot;limited&quot; US strikes on its backer, Iran, but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a &quot;red line.&quot; The US has repeatedly threatened Iran over its contentious nuclear program, and Lebanese authorities fear Hezbollah could become involved if a potential US attack triggered a regional war. But the official told AFP on condition of anonymity: &quot;In the event of limited US strikes on Iran, Hezbollah&#39;s position will be to not intervene militarily.&quot; If the group determines, however, that the United States is trying to &quot;provoke the downfall of the Iranian regime or to target the supreme leader, Hezbollah will then intervene,&quot; they added. The official predicted that in a hypothetical scenario where the US attempted to militarily unseat the Iranian government, US-ally Israel would &quot;inevitably wage a war against Lebanon.&quot; US President Donald Trump has deployed warships and fighter jets near Iran to back up his threats of strikes should ongoing negotiations between the two sides fail to secure a deal. Lebanon&#39;s foreign minister said Tuesday that the government feared Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure if Hezbollah&mdash;which still has an arsenal of ballistic missiles&mdash;became part of a regional conflict between the US and Iran. &quot;What the Lebanese fear is a chain reaction: an American strike against Iran, a Hezbollah retaliatory strike against Israel, followed by a massive Israeli response,&quot; said a Lebanese official who requested anonymity. Hezbollah&#39;s leader, Naim Qassem, has said that his group is in a &quot;defensive position,&quot; but it would consider itself &quot;targeted&quot; by any US attack on Iran. During the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June, which the US later joined, Hezbollah did not intervene. Hezbollah emerged weakened from over a year of war with Israel that a November 2024 ceasefire sought to halt. Despite the agreement, Israel has continued striking targets it says are linked to Hezbollah on a near-daily basis, saying it is enforcing ceasefire provisions against the group rearming.Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have protested the attacks as ceasefire violations. The official speaking to AFP stressed that Hezbollah was refraining from responding to the strikes, but that its restraint &quot;has limits.&quot; &quot;Israeli attacks cannot continue indefinitely without a response.&quot;

Middle East

Hezbollah said it would not intervene in limited US strikes on Iran but warned targeting Iran’s supreme leader would cross a red line, potentially triggering intervention and escalating regional conflict involving Israel and Lebanon

Hezbollah official says will not intervene in event of 'limited' US strikes on Iran

WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday ordered non-emergency personnel to leave its embassy in Beirut as President Donald Trump threatens strikes on Iran, which has close relations with Lebanese Hezbollah. &quot;This is a temporary measure intended to ensure the safety of our personnel while maintaining our ability to operate and assist US citizens,&quot; a senior State Department official said on customary condition of anonymity. Around 40 embassy personnel left through Beirut&#39;s international airport on Monday, a Lebanese security source told AFP. The order applies to non-emergency employees and their family members, but the embassy will remain open. &quot;We continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel,&quot; the US official said. Trump has ordered a major buildup of American forces in the region as he threatens to attack Iran, saying it must accept an onerous deal on concerns starting with its nuclear program. Iran&#39;s cleric-run government&mdash;which last month ruthlessly suppressed mass protests&mdash;says it expects talks Thursday with the United States in what could be a last-ditch attempt at diplomacy. Since the October 7, 2023, attacks by Iranian-backed Hamas, Israel has carried out strikes in Lebanon that have devastated Hezbollah, including killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah had been expected in the past to form another front against Israel in a war with Iran. The militant group on Saturday vowed &quot;resistance&quot; after a new Israeli strike killed eight of its operatives.

The United States ordered non-essential embassy staff to leave Beirut amid rising tensions with Iran, citing security concerns, while maintaining operations as Washington increases regional military presence and diplomatic pressure

US orders exit of Beirut embassy personnel amid Iran tension

BEIRUT: Attacks carried out by Israel on Friday in eastern Lebanon killed eight members of Hezbollah, an official from the group told AFP on Saturday. Lebanon&#39;s health ministry said Friday that a total of 10 people were killed in strikes that hit the eastern Bekaa region. The Israeli military said it targeted &quot;several terrorists of Hezbollah&#39;s missile array in three different command centres in the Baalbek area&quot;.

Israel killed eight members of Hezbollah in a strike on Lebanon's Baalbek area on Friday

Eight Hezbollah members killed in Israel's Friday strikes: Official to AFP

TEHRAN: Iran on Monday slammed Israel over its killing of Hezbollah&#39;s military chief, a day after the commander was targeted with a strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. &quot;The Iranian foreign ministry strongly condemns the cowardly assassination of the great commander of the Lebanese Islamic Resistance, the martyr Haytham Ali Tabatabai,&quot; the foreign ministry said in a statement. Tabatabai is the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since the start of a ceasefire in November 2024 that sought to end more than a year of hostilities. &lsquo;Flagrant violation&rsquo;&nbsp;The killing &quot;constitutes a flagrant violation of the November 2024 ceasefire and a brutal breach of Lebanon&rsquo;s national sovereignty&quot;, the Iranian foreign ministry said. Hezbollah earlier confirmed the killing of &quot;the great commander&quot; Tabatabai. Largely unknown to the Lebanese public, Tabatabai was among the new commanders chosen to lead the group after the war. Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon since the truce, mostly claiming to be targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure.

‘The Iranian foreign ministry strongly condemns the cowardly assassination of the great commander of the Lebanese Islamic Resistance, the martyr Haytham Ali Tabatabai,’ the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Iran slams Israel’s killing of Hezbollah military chief

JERUSALEM: Israel&#39;s military said it had hit Hezbollah launchers and weapons storage facilities in Lebanon on Saturday.&nbsp;&quot;The IDF struck launchers and military sites belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation in the Bekaa area and in southern Lebanon,&quot; Israel&#39;s military said in a statement.&nbsp;&quot;The presence of the launchers and the military activity at these sites constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.&quot;

Israeli military announces new strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon

BEIRUT:&nbsp;An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed one person on Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry said, in the latest attack on the area despite a nearly year-long ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. In a statement, the ministry said that &ldquo;an Israeli enemy strike&rdquo; on a vehicle in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, south Lebanon, killed one person. The ministry also said that a grenade launched by an Israeli drone in the southern town of Shaqra wounded five people. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incidents. Israeli strike kills man&nbsp;Lebanon&rsquo;s state-run National News Agency identified the killed man as Kamel Reda Qarnabash, saying he was driving his vehicle in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah when the strike hit. The Israeli army said earlier on Saturday that it killed a Hezbollah member in a strike the day before on Froun, southern Lebanon. &ldquo;In a targeted strike the (Israeli army) eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist in the Froun area in southern Lebanon&rdquo; on Friday, the military said in a statement. It alleged the Hezbollah member had &ldquo;advanced terror attacks against the State of Israel&rdquo; and its forces. The Lebanese health ministry said on Friday that an &ldquo;Israeli enemy strike&rdquo; on a vehicle in Froun killed one person. Ceasefire violation&nbsp;Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024 -- which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah -- by continuing its strikes and maintaining forces inside its territory. Israel has said Hezbollah is working to rebuild its military capabilities, accusing the group of breaking the ceasefire terms. According to the health ministry, more than 330 people have been killed in Lebanon and 945 wounded since the ceasefire. An Israeli strike Tuesday night on the Ain al-Hilweh camp for Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon killed 13 people. On Friday, Israel said it had targeted &ldquo;terrorists&rdquo; from the Palestinian group Hamas, allied with Hezbollah, in the strike on the camp, located on the outskirts of the coastal city of Sidon. Two students killed&nbsp;Israel&rsquo;s military &quot;is operating against Hamas&#39;s establishment in Lebanon, and will continue to operate against Hamas terrorists wherever they operate&quot;, it said in Friday&#39;s statement. A secondary school in the camp said in a statement on its Facebook page on Thursday that two of its students were killed, publishing an image of two adolescent boys. The United States has sought to exert pressure on the Lebanese government to make Hezbollah hand over its weapons, which the group has so far refused to do.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency identified the killed man as Kamel Reda Qarnabash; according to the health ministry, more than 330 people have been killed in Lebanon and 945 wounded since the ceasefire.

Lebanon says fresh Israeli strike on south kills one

BEIRUT: Lebanon&#39;s President Joseph Aoun told US officials on Sunday his country was tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism, days after Washington imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members. The trio were accused of money laundering to fund Lebanon&#39;s Hezbollah group, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other Western powers. The US delegation&#39;s visit to Beirut, headed by senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, came as Washington works to cut off Hezbollah&#39;s funding and Lebanon&#39;s government tries to disarm it. The group was severely weakened in its most recent war with Israel, which was halted by a November 2024 ceasefire. &quot;Lebanon strictly applies the measures adopted to prevent money laundering, smuggling, or its use in financing terrorism, and severely punishes financial crimes of all kinds,&quot; Aoun said he had told the delegation. On Thursday, the US imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members allegedly involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars from Iran, the group&#39;s main sponsor. Part of the funding was via money exchange businesses that operate in cash, said a US Treasury statement. Since January 2025, Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guards have &quot;transferred over $1 billion&quot; to Hezbollah, &quot;mostly through money exchange companies,&quot; it added. &quot;Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous, and secure &mdash; but that can only happen if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran&#39;s funding and control,&quot; deputy director for counter-terrorism John Hurley said on Thursday. Hurley later posted on X that he, Aou,n and Gorka had &quot;discussed ways in which we can partner together to stop the flow of money from Iran to Hezbollah and create a safer and more prosperous Lebanon.&quot; Israel on Sunday carried out new strikes in south Lebanon, killing two people according to the health ministry, putting the toll from Israeli strikes since Saturday at five. Aoun called on Sunday for &quot;pressure on Israel to stop its ongoing attacks.&quot;

Americas

Three Hezbollah members are accused of money laundering to fund the group, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other Western powers.

Lebanon fighting 'terror financing,' president tells US

BEIRUT: Hezbollah lashed out on Thursday against the prospect of any political negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, and insisted that it has a right to defend itself. A source close to Hezbollah&rsquo;s political leadership told AFP the declaration followed recent US and Egyptian pressure on Lebanon&rsquo;s leaders to open direct negotiations. Lebanon and Israel are still technically in a state of war, but all the recent armed conflicts with Israel were fought by Hezbollah, not the Lebanese military. On Thursday, an Israeli strike killed one person, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The Israeli military said it had targeted a Hezbollah construction team. The only diplomatic contact between Israel and Lebanon is through a ceasefire monitoring mechanism, which includes the United States, France and the United Nations. This body meets regularly at the headquarters of the UN force in southern Lebanon but the Lebanese and Israeli parties do not directly communicate with each other. Disarmament driveHezbollah was the only movement in Lebanon that refused to disarm after the 1975-1990 civil war, first claiming it had a duty to liberate territory occupied by Israel, and then to continue defending the country. In an open letter to the Lebanese people and their leaders, Hezbollah said it rejected &ldquo;any political negotiations&rdquo; between Lebanon and Israel and that such talks would &ldquo;not serve the national interest.&rdquo; Hezbollah is backed by Iran, which also fought its own war against Israel earlier this year. &ldquo;We reaffirm our legitimate right... to defend ourselves against an enemy that imposes war on our country and does not cease its attacks,&rdquo; Hezbollah added. The group nevertheless said it remained committed to a ceasefire reached with Israel last year, after months of hostilities that escalated into an all-out war. Israel warned last week that it could intensify operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of trying to rearm. Last week, US envoy Tom Barrack said that dialogue with Israel could be the key to easing tensions. The Lebanese government is due to meet later Thursday to examine the progress of its efforts to disarm the militant group. Despite the November 2024 ceasefire agreement that ended the latest war, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up strikes. Since the ceasefire, the United States has increased pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the group, a move opposed by Hezbollah and its allies. &lsquo;Hasty decision&rsquo;Israel has stepped up its strikes on Lebanon in recent weeks, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions. President Joseph Aoun has criticized Israel for intensifying its strikes after he said he was open to negotiating with Israel. A Lebanese official told AFP on Thursday that Israel has not responded &ldquo;positively nor negatively&rdquo; to the offer. The Lebanese government has ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm Hezbollah, but last week Israel&rsquo;s Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Aoun of &ldquo;dragging his feet.&rdquo; &ldquo;The Lebanese government&rsquo;s commitment to disarm Hezbollah and remove it from southern Lebanon must be implemented. Maximum enforcement will continue and even intensify &mdash; we will not allow any threat to the residents of the north,&rdquo; he said. Netanyahu meanwhile accused Hezbollah of attempting to rearm, after it suffered staggering losses in its last war with Israel. In September 2024, Israel killed the group&rsquo;s longtime chief, Hassan Nasrallah and over the course of the war took out many other senior leaders. Under the terms of the ceasefire, the army is tasked with ensuring Hezbollah is disarmed in the south near the Israeli border by the end of the year, before proceeding to its disarmament in the rest of Lebanon. Hezbollah has criticized the government&rsquo;s &ldquo;hasty decision&rdquo; to disarm it, claiming that Israel has taken advantage of the push.

Hezbollah rejected any political negotiations between Lebanon and Israel amid rising US pressure and intensifying Israeli strikes, insisting on its right to defend itself and condemning the Lebanese government’s plan to disarm the group under the 2024 ceasefire terms.

Hezbollah rejects any negotiations between Lebanon and Israel

BEIRUT: Lebanon&#39;s health ministry said two people were killed and another wounded in two Israeli strikes on the country&#39;s south Saturday, the latest attacks despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. In a statement, the ministry attributed the death to an &quot;Israeli enemy strike on a car in Haruf, Nabatiyeh district&quot;. The ministry then reported another Israeli strike on a motorcycle in Qlaileh, Tyre district, which killed one person. The Israeli military said it had killed Zayn al-Abidin Hussein Fatouni, alleging he was &quot;a commander in the anti-tank unit of the Radwan Force Battalion&quot; of Hezbollah. According to the army&#39;s statement, Fatouni &quot;was involved in efforts to re-establish Hezbollah&#39;s terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon&quot;. The military did not immediately comment on the attack on Qlaileh. Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end over a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. The Israeli military has intensified its attacks over the past week, killing two people in two separate strikes on vehicles Friday. The military said it had killed a Hezbollah &quot;logistics commander&quot; in the first strike and a member &quot;who was involved in efforts to reestablish Hezbollah&#39;s military capabilities&quot; in the second. A series of Israeli raids Thursday on southern and eastern Lebanon killed four people, including an elderly woman, with the military saying its targets included a weapons depot, a training camp and military infrastructure. Last week, a United Nations special rapporteur told AFP that deadly Israeli strikes on civilian vehicles in Lebanon could amount to war crimes, despite Israel&#39;s assertion they targeted Hezbollah members. As part of last year&#39;s ceasefire deal, Israeli troops were to withdraw from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle any military infrastructure in the south. Under US pressure and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government has moved to begin disarming Hezbollah, a plan the movement and its allies oppose. Despite the terms of the truce, Israel has kept troops deployed in five border points it deems strategic.

The Israeli military said it had killed Zayn al-Abidin Hussein Fatouni, alleging he was "a commander in the anti-tank unit of the Radwan Force Battalion" of Hezbollah.

Lebanon says two killed in Israeli strikes on south

TEHRAN: Iran on Friday condemned strikes by Israel on southern Lebanon. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the strikes were a &quot;blatant violation of Lebanon&#39;s sovereignty and territorial integrity,&quot; in a statement. Lebanon said on Thursday that Israel had killed one person and wounded seven, while the Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah and allied groups. &lsquo;Breach of ceasefire&rsquo;&nbsp;Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the attacks had struck civilian facilities and denounced what he described as a breach of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel negotiated last year. Tehran was also hit by Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities during a 12-day war with Israel this year. Hezbollah and Israel agreed a truce in November, after more than a year of hostilities that culminated in two months of open war. Israel has nevertheless repeatedly bombed Lebanese territory. Baqaei also accused France and the United States -- who are guarantors of the truce -- of &quot;continued inaction and appeasement&quot; toward Israel over what he called the &quot;repeated violation&quot; of the agreement.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the strikes were a "blatant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity"; Lebanon said on Thursday that Israel had killed one person and wounded seven.

Articles tagged with "Hezbollah"

Hezbollah official says will not intervene in event of 'limited' US strikes on Iran

US orders exit of Beirut embassy personnel amid Iran tension

Eight Hezbollah members killed in Israel's Friday strikes: Official to AFP

Iran slams Israel’s killing of Hezbollah military chief

Israeli military announces new strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon

Lebanon says fresh Israeli strike on south kills one

Lebanon fighting 'terror financing,' president tells US

Hezbollah rejects any negotiations between Lebanon and Israel

Lebanon says two killed in Israeli strikes on south

Iran slams Israeli strikes in Lebanon as 'ceasefire violation'

Hezbollah official says will not intervene in event of 'limited' US strikes on Iran