Iran threatens revenge after Israel's Beirut attack
At least two people were killed and eleven injured in a new Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Iran threatens to retaliate against both Israel and the United States.
The Israeli military said in a statement that targets linked to the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in the al-Dahiya area were attacked.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this is in response to attacks from Hezbollah.
Two apartments in two buildings were hit, according to Lebanon's state news agency NNA. Pictures from the scene show that several floors were damaged.
“Legitimate targets”
The powerful speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf – who is also the chief negotiator in the Iran-US peace talks – condemned the attack and accused the US of giving Israel the “green light” to carry it out.
The Beirut attack and the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports make both American and “Zionist” bases and interests in the region “legitimate targets”, according to Ghalibaf.
“Our armed forces are, as always, free to act”, he writes on X.
Attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs have been relatively few in recent weeks, with only two attacks since mid-April.
Israel is said to have informed the US of the latest attack in advance, writes The Times of Israel, citing the Saudi television channel al-Hadath. One reason why Israel has refrained from attacks on the Beirut areas is that the White House has requested it, as it is considered to damage attempts to negotiate an end to the Iran war.
Sensitive situation
The sensitivity of the situation is also emphasized by US President Donald Trump when he said in an interview with NBC News on Sunday that he wants to see more clinical, “surgical” attacks on the Hezbollah movement. He also says that he wants “a better life for the people of Lebanon”.
This week, the current ceasefire in Lebanon was extended after Israeli and Lebanese representatives met in the US. Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected the ceasefire, demanding that Israeli forces in Lebanon leave the country.
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