Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they would respond if Israel does not halt its attacks on Lebanon, as deadly strikes persisted a day after a U.S.-Iran ceasefire was reached.
"We issue a firm warning to the United States, which violates treaties, and to its Zionist ally, its executioner: if the aggression against beloved Lebanon does not cease immediately, we will fulfil our duty and deliver a regret-inducing response," the Guards said in a statement carried on state TV, using a reference to Israel.
Israel says the U.S.-Iran truce does not include Lebanon, which was drawn into the war after Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.
Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, even as the Iran-aligned group paused attacks on northern Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon under the cease-fire.
Israeli position contradicted comments by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key intermediary in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks, who had said the truce would include Lebanon. In a statement, Hezbollah condemned what it called Israel's "barbaric aggression" and said the attacks underscored its "natural and legal right to resist the occupation and respond to its aggression."
