Iran’s president said Israel’s renewed incursion into Lebanon has violated the two-week ceasefire, warning of retaliation that could further escalate the conflict in West Asia ahead of Islamabad talks over the weekend.
In a post on social media, President Masoud Pezeshkian described the move as a “dangerous sign of deception” and that Iran would not abandon its allies in Lebanon.
“This is a dangerous sign of deception and lack of commitment to potential agreements. The continuation of these actions will render negotiations meaningless,” he wrote.
“Our fingers remain on the trigger. Iran will never abandon its Lebanese sisters and brothers,” he wrote.
The retaliation threats from Iran comes as world leaders have been urging that the ceasefire be extended to Lebanon which has seen at least 2,000 dead since the country was dragged into the West Asia war early in March.
More specifically, the Iranian leader is responding to Israeli attacks on Wednesday, April 8, a day after the ceasefire came into effect, that killed at least 200 and at least 1,000 wounded.
Leaders of the EU, China, France, and Spain, among others have condemned Israeli attacks to restore regional stability, fearing continued attacks will undo the fragile ceasefire.
EU foreign affairs representative Kaja Kallas pointed out that Israel’s “heavy-handed actions” cannot be justified as self-defence.
“Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war, but Israel’s right to defend itself does not justify inflicting such massive destruction,” Kallas wrote.
“Hezbollah must disarm. The EU supports Lebanon’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah,” she added.
This introduces new friction points between the US and Iran set to meet in Islamabad for talks aimed at turning the temporary truce into a lasting peace deal, especially when they are already quite far apart in their demands out of the negotiations as can be understood from Trump’s 15-point demands and Iran’s 10-point programme for peace.
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