Senior Iranian officials leveled up criticism over Israel swelling a military campaign in Lebanon this week, as parallel discussions to end violence in the region press on.
A top military commander, Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani, warned Israel must “withdraw to the positions it held before the start of the 40-day war” in early March, when hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
“Supporting the resistance in Lebanon is the duty of all of us,” Qaani, the commander of the elite Quds Force branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said, according to the semi-official agency, Tasnim.
The IRGC emphasized that stance in a separate statement on Thursday, cautioning that Israel “must immediately stop its attacks on the Lebanese people, withdraw without delay” and “recognize Lebanon’s territorial integrity,” Tasnim reported.
On Monday, Iran’s diplomatic lead, Mohammad Bagher Ghlibaf, insisted “if the Israeli aggression against Lebanon continues” Tehran would “halt the path of negotiations.” He threatened “direct confrontation with the enemy,” in a post on X
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also declared, “The ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon,” days before threatening retaliation if Israel strikes the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
US President Donald Trump has voiced his frustration over Israel’s campaign in Lebanon as a seed of contention among Iranian authorities. Israeli, Lebanese and US government officials repeatedly stated truce extensions to a frail deal first announced in mid-April – which Hezbollah is not party to. Both Israel and Hezbollah have launched attacks since then.
It comes as Israeli forces pushed deeper into Lebanon on Sunday beyond a stretch of occupied land towards Beaufort Castle, a high-lying fortress near the city of Nabatiyeh.
Over the weekend, troops seized the Crusader-era castle for the first time since Israel occupied Lebanon from 1982 to 2000. On Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained the military would keep striking southern Lebanon “as planned.”