Iran has warned Hezbollah not to give Israel cause to launch a full-scale war along the Israel-Lebanon border, fearing it would risk gains it believes it has made in the region since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Iranian officials, who met with the Hezbollah leadership earlier this month, warned against escalating to all-out war, a Hezbollah member told the newspaper.
Since October 8, Hezbollah has opened the front against Israel in southern Lebanon, claiming it is in support of Hamas in Gaza. Despite daily exchanges of cross-border attacks, neither side has utilized its full capabilities in the clashes, so as to avoid a full-blown war.
So far, the border attacks have resulted in six civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 10 soldiers and reservists, the Post reported.
Hezbollah has named some 200 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon, but some also in Syria. One Lebanese soldier and at least 30 civilians, three of whom were journalists, have also been killed by Israeli fire in South Lebanon.
The fighting has also displaced some 90,000 people from border areas in Lebanon.
Israel has warned it will no longer tolerate the presence of Hezbollah along the Lebanon border. While they prefer a diplomatic solution, senior officials have warned of a full-scale military campaign if efforts to secure an agreement fail.
On the other hand, Hezbollah says it would only stop its attacks if a full ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
According to the Washington Post, Tehran has also sent diplomats and senior military officials to meet with members of other proxies in Iraq and Syria to rein in attacks on US troops in the region.
In fact, there have been no attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since February 4.
