Latest Developments
Iran’s acting foreign minister threatened Israel with “a hell of no return” in Lebanon if the current conflict with its Hezbollah proxy escalates into an “all-out war,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on July 3. “In Lebanon, the resistance has played a role as a vigorous actor that created deterrence both in the international field and in the field of diplomacy,” Ali Bagheri Kani said, referring to Hezbollah. Lebanon will be “definitely a hell with no return for the Zionists” in the event of a new war, he added. Speaking to reporters, Bagheri Kani praised Hezbollah for having played “a key role in the war equation that has created a deterrent power in the region.”
Expert Analysis
“Iran is marshaling resources and levying threats to prevent the destruction of the crown jewel of its proxy forces — Lebanese Hezbollah — from being actualized in the event of a new Lebanon war. Tehran’s unprecedented April 13 attack on Israel is underwriting the confident position from which these threats are coming. As with all terrorists, the prospect of greater conflict and chaos is being used to achieve political ends.” — Behnam Ben Taleblu, FDD Senior Fellow
“Iran is seeking to deter Israel from attacking Hezbollah by threatening Israel with a wider war in the region and boasting about Hezbollah’s capabilities. For Iran, Hezbollah is its foremost proxy in the region, in which it has invested heavily throughout the last decades. Iran views Hezbollah as such a valuable asset that it wants to prevent Hezbollah from suffering a setback in any escalation after Hezbollah carried out more than 5,000 attacks on Israel.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow
Increasing Iranian Focus on Lebanon and Proxy War on Israel
Bagheri Kani’s comments follow escalating attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel. On July 3, following the elimination of the commander of Hezbollah’s Aziz Unit, Muhammad Nimah, in an Israeli strike on the city of Tyre, the Iran-backed terrorist proxy fired several rockets at Kiryat Shmona and other areas in the Galilee panhandle as well as at the northern Golan Heights.
“War Between Israel and Hezbollah Drawing Closer, U.S. Says,” FDD Flash Brief
“Iranian Mission to UN Threatens Israel With ‘Obliterating War’,” FDD Flash Brief
“Palestinian Islamic Jihad Claims Responsibility for Fatal West Bank Bombing,” FDD Flash Brief
Subscribe to FDD Flash Briefs