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Iran backs Lebanon in ceasefire talks, seeks end to ‘problems’
Iran backs any decision taken by Lebanon in talks to secure a ceasefire with Israel, a senior Iranian official said on Friday, signalling Tehran wants to see an end to a conflict that has dealt heavy blows to its Lebanese ally Hizbollah.
Israel launched airstrikes in the Hizbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, flattening buildings for a fourth consecutive day. Israel has stepped up its bombardment of the area this week, an escalation that has coincided with signs of movement in US-led diplomacy towards a ceasefire.
After days of intense attacks on the capital, Israeli bombardment flattened five buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh on Friday, including one near one of Beirut’s busiest traffic junctions, Tayouneh.
Video showed a building being struck and turning into a cloud of rubble and debris that billowed into Horsh Beirut, the city’s main park.
The Israeli military said its fighter jets attacked munitions warehouses, a headquarters and other Hizbollah infrastructure. It issued a warning on social media identifying buildings ahead of the strikes
Two senior Lebanese political sources told the media the US ambassador to Lebanon had presented a draft ceasefire proposal to Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday. Berri is endorsed by Hizbollah to negotiate and met the senior Iranian official Ali Larijani on Friday.
Asked at a news conference whether he had come to Beirut to undermine the US truce plan, Larijani said: “We are not looking to sabotage anything. We are after a solution to the problems.”
“We support in all circumstances the Lebanese government. Those who are disrupting are Netanyahu and his people,” he added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hizbollah was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, and has been armed and financed by Tehran.
On Thursday, Eli Cohen, Israel’s energy minister and a member of its security cabinet, told the media prospects for a ceasefire were the most promising since the conflict began.
The Washington Post reported Netanyahu was rushing to advance a Lebanon ceasefire with the aim of delivering an early foreign policy win to his ally, US President-elect Donald Trump.
A senior diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more time was needed to get a ceasefire done but was hopeful it could be achieved.
The outgoing US administration appears keen to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, even as efforts to end Israel’s related war in the Gaza Strip appear totally adrift.
Reuters