Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed the Hezbollah terrorist group “cannot stand alone” against Israel after the Jewish state launched its heaviest airstrikes in Lebanon since 2006.
Pezeshkian, who met with world leaders this week at the Summit of the Future at the United Nations headquarters in New York, warned America and other allies of Israel to end their support of Israel following Monday’s bombings that killed more than 558 people in Lebanon.
“Hezbollah cannot stand alone against a country that is being defended and supported and supplied by Western countries, by European countries and the United States,” Pezeshkian said in a recent interview with CNN.
Pezeshkian called on the UN Security Council to “take immediate action” against Israel, warning that the international community cannot “allow Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
Israel and the Iran-backed terror group have escalated their daily missile attacks since last week’s deadly pager and walkie-talkie detonations, with Hezbollah and the IDF now firing hundreds of rockets every day.
Monday saw the largest attack of its kind from Israel, with the IDF striking more than 1,600 targets, killing at least 90 women and children, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the severity of the attack could trigger the Islamic Republic to get directly involved in the conflict.
“Iran will NOT remain indifferent,” Araghchi said in a statement. “We stand with the people of Lebanon and Palestine.”
A direct attack from Iran, however, would not come soon as officials in Tehran allegedly warned their Hezbollah allies that “the timing isn’t right” due to Pezeshkian visit to the UN, sources told Axios reporter Barak Ravid.
Iran had already vowed to launch a direct attack on the Jewish state after a suspected Israeli bomb killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 while he was in Tehran.
Thousands are currently fleeing south Lebanon after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning for those in the region to evacuate.
“Please get out of harm’s way now,” Netanyahu said. “Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes.”
In response, Hezbollah has fired its own series of rockets at Israeli military bases, including the Rafael defense firm, headquartered in Haifa.
The daily battles, which began when Hezbollah began firing at Israel on Oct. 8, has forced tens of thousands to flee the regions on both sides of the border, with Israeli leaders facing growing backlash from its displaced citizens.
Netanyahu and the IDF have vowed to continue the attacks in Lebanon until it is once again safe for Israelis to return to their homes in the north.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters Tuesday that a “diplomatic solution” would be the ideal way to end the conflict rather than opening up a two-front war.
“We are not eager to start any ground invasion anywhere,” he said at the New York gathering.
“I don’t want to send my son, and we don’t want to send our boys to fight in a foreign country, but we are determined to protect the civilians of Israel.”
