Iran has declared its readiness to fully support the Shiite Hezbollah movement if Israel initiates a full-scale war against Lebanon, Kamal Kharazi, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and head of Iran's Strategic Council for International Relations, said in an interview with the Financial Times.
"In such a situation, we would have no choice but to support Hezbollah by all means," Kharazi emphasized in response to a question about Iran's potential military support for Hezbollah in the event of a full-scale conflict. He added, "The entire Lebanese people, Arab countries, and the axis of resistance will support Lebanon against Israel." However, Kharazi noted that further escalation of the conflict and its expansion "is not in the interests of either Iran or the United States."
On June 29, Iran's mission to the UN issued a statement, asserting that Tehran views Israeli threats of a full-scale military operation in Lebanon as psychological pressure. However, it warned that the initiation of full-scale military operations by Israel in Lebanon would lead to a war of annihilation.
In mid-June, the Israeli army approved an operational plan for an offensive in Lebanon. Following operations against the Palestinian radical movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities anticipate simultaneously striking Hezbollah forces, which, like Hamas, periodically shell Israeli territory from the north.
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Based on TASS materials