BEIRUT – Iran’s foreign minister called on Israel on Saturday to stop its attacks on Gaza, warning that the war could spread to other parts of the Middle East if Hezbollah joins the fight and that it could lead to a “major earthquake “would lead to Israel.
Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut that the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah had considered all war scenarios and Israel should stop its attacks on Gaza as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, news site Axios reported that Tehran had sent a message to Jerusalem through the UN that it would intervene if the campaign in Gaza continued, and especially if it launched a ground offensive. The report cited two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the matter.
According to the report, Amirabdollahian made the comments while meeting with UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland in Beirut on Saturday, a meeting that drew strong criticism from Israel.
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Israel considers Hezbollah its biggest immediate threat and estimates it has around 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles that can hit anywhere in Israel. The group, which includes thousands of battle-hardened fighters who took part in Syria’s 12-year conflict, also has various types of military drones.
Hezbollah fighters were on high alert along Lebanon’s border with Israel following last Saturday’s brutal attack by the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which left some 1,300 Israeli civilians and soldiers dead and up to 200 abducted to Gaza.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said an Israeli drone strike along the border with Lebanon eliminated a terrorist cell that was trying to enter Israel. On Friday, Hezbollah said its fighters fired several rockets at four Israeli positions along the border.
On Saturday afternoon, Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets and shells at Israeli positions in the disputed Mount Dov area, which Lebanon calls Sheba Farms. Israeli troops fired back at nearby areas in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s state news agency reported that a man and his wife were killed in an Israeli shelling of a border village, while Hezbollah said one of its fighters was also killed on Saturday.
According to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, Amirabdollahian discussed the situation in Gaza and the region with the top Hamas official in exile, Saleh Arouri, and the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, Ziad Nakhaleh, in Beirut on Saturday.
Hamas officials said last Saturday’s attack on southern Israel was not directed by Iran, although both sides work closely together and Tehran provides Hamas with money and military know-how. Hamas officials did not respond to requests from the Associated Press to confirm the meeting or provide details about it.
Amirabdollahian left Beirut on Saturday afternoon after a trip that took him to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, where Tehran enjoys great influence.
Amirabdollahian said he met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, who briefed him on the group’s conditions in Lebanon.
“I know the scenarios that Hezbollah has put forward,” Amirabdollahian said. “Every step that the resistance (Hezbollah) will take will trigger a huge earthquake in the Zionist entity.”
Amirabdollahian added: “I want to warn the war criminals and those who support this organization before it is too late to stop the crimes against civilians in Gaza, because in a few hours it could be too late.”
With regard to Hezbollah, US President Joe Biden has warned other actors in the Middle East not to join the conflict, sent American warships to the region and pledged full support to Israel.
Iran’s foreign minister said he would contact U.N. officials in the Middle East because “there is still a possibility to work on an initiative.” [to end the war] but it might be too late tomorrow.”
The possibility of a new front in Lebanon brings back bitter memories of a months-long war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 that ended in a stalemate and a tense detente between the two sides.