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Hundreds of Israeli strikes hit southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, after Israel advised residents in these areas to “stay away from Hezbollah targets.”
While the pro-Iranian group continues to launch rocket salvos in response to Israeli bombardments, various components of the Tehran-led axis have begun issuing statements of support.
Iran firmly condemns Israeli strikes
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel on Monday of seeking to “expand” the conflict in the Middle East, emphasizing that such escalation would “benefit no one,” and stressing that Tehran is not looking to “destabilize” the region.
“We know better than anyone that if a larger war were to break out in the Middle East, it would benefit no one in the world. Israel is seeking to expand this conflict,” he said during a roundtable with journalists in New York.
Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani “firmly condemned the extensive air attacks” carried out by Israel in southern Lebanon and “warned against the dangerous consequences of the new adventure by the Zionists,” according to an official statement.
Iraq: Sistani calls to ‘stop the barbaric aggression’ by Israel
In neighboring Iraq, where Tehran holds significant influence, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the highest religious authority for millions of Iraqi and global Shiites, called on Monday for “every possible effort to be made to stop the barbaric aggression” against Lebanon, where Hezbollah is the target of Israeli bombings.
The 94-year-old Grand Ayatollah is a central figure in Iraq and holds great influence over millions of Shiite followers beyond Iraq’s borders. In March 2021, he received Pope Francis during a historic meeting in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq.
In response to the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014, Sistani issued a “fatwa” urging Iraqis to take up arms against the jihadists, leading to the formation of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a powerful coalition of former paramilitary groups now integrated into regular forces, allied with Tehran and playing a key political role.
In a statement on his website, referring to “the difficult days the Lebanese people are going through, increasingly exposed to brutal Israeli aggression,” Ayatollah Sistani called for “every possible effort” to put an end to this “barbaric aggression and protect the Lebanese people.”
He also urged “the believers” to “contribute to alleviating the suffering” of the Lebanese people and to “meet their humanitarian needs.”
Iraq’s government, dominated by pro-Iranian parties, maintains close ties with Lebanon and Hezbollah, a key Shiite Lebanese movement also allied with Tehran.
While it’s currently impossible to gauge the impact of Sistani’s call, his influence among Iraqi Shiite communities may encourage hundreds of Iraqi fighters to join the operations in Lebanon.
The ‘Islamic Resistance in Iraq’ claims drone attacks
Meanwhile, the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” a coalition of Iranian-backed Islamist groups responsible for attacks on the international coalition against ISIS and Israel, has yet to release an official statement regarding the situation.
However, it claimed responsibility for a series of drone attacks carried out overnight against Israel. The group said it targeted an Israeli observation base in the north of the country.
It added that the attacks were carried out in support of the people of Gaza, without mentioning Lebanon.
Hamas expresses ‘solidarity’ with Hezbollah
Finally, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas condemned the deadly Israeli strikes targeting its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, calling them a “barbaric aggression.”
“This large-scale barbaric aggression is a war crime,” it said in a statement, expressing its “solidarity (…) with (its) brothers in Hezbollah and the Lebanese people.” As for the Houthis, no statement has been issued so far.
