Iranupdated 1h ago2 min read
Israel Pressures Lebanon To Prevent Hezbollah From Joining A War With Iran
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Israel, via US mediators, pressed Lebanon to redeploy troops near Hezbollah to block intervention. Some reports say Hezbollah may refrain from intervening to avoid widening the conflict.
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6 outlets told this the same way.
Strikes and warnings
A U.S. official said the United States carried out defensive strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, with the official indicating the targets were Iranian troops that were “using surface-to-air missiles against American assets.”
Iran’s state television reported that several explosions were heard on Qeshm Island, as the AJN account tied the incident to the eve of the midterm elections.
Israel requested the Lebanese government to deploy troops to establish checkpoints in areas where Hezbollah members reside in order to prevent the group from joining the conflict if hostilities with Iran resume, according to Kan as cited by AJN.
Jerusalem warned Beirut that clashes in Lebanon could flare up again if Hezbollah attacks Israel, and AJN said the request was transmitted through American mediators.
The AJN account also referenced a former Israeli hostage, Rom Braslavski, who posted that he believed Giorgia Meloni should regret not having listened to his warning about the Oct. 7 Massacre reaching Italy.
Hezbollah and Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat, as summarized by aljadeed, raised the question of whether the jihadist council in Hezbollah would commit not to intervene in a war with Iran, while weighing the “imbalance in the military balance of power” and the need to evacuate areas south of the Litani River. Elsiyasa quoted MP Fouad Makhzoumi saying Hezbollah is an Iranian faction receiving instructions from Iran, not from the leadership inside Lebanon, and Makhzoumi warned that the party was dragging Lebanon to destruction. Makhzoumi said he had moved from “five Israeli-occupied points” to the “occupation of 68 villages, i.e., about 600 square kilometers of Lebanese territory,” and he asked whether Hezbollah would offer the government a guarantee for a decision of war and peace.
L’Orient Today described Naim Qassem reiterating his refusal to discuss Hezbollah’s disarmament and said Mojtaba Khamenei threatened a response with “no geographic limits” to any further attack on the Islamic Republic. Al-Hadath’s segment in Elsiyasa also included Makhzoumi’s claim that Hezbollah fired missiles on March 2 that “dragged us into a devastating war.”
Lebanon’s exposure
Aljadeed said Israel pressured Lebanon, with American mediation, for the Lebanese army to redeploy in areas where Hezbollah operates, fearing opening a front with Israel if the war against Iran resumes. Aljadeed reported that the Israeli Air Force intensified its strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon and warned of a harsh military response if Hezbollah challenges the Israeli army. صوت بيروت إنترناشونال said Israeli assessments warned that any new confrontation with Tehran could pull Hezbollah back into the arena to support Iran and widen the Lebanese front with broad potential for escalation.
The same source said the Israeli army was preparing for the scenario, including “a broad mobilization of reserve forces and strikes against Hezbollah targets across Lebanon,” and it added that the army might widen targeting to include the Beqaa and southern Beirut. In parallel, the source described a judicial development involving the Beidle explosives shipment, with Judge Claud Ghanem referring investigations to First Military Investigating Judge Ghada Abu Alwan after charging thirteen defendants.