Iran warns Israel of ‘obliterating war’ if it attacks Lebanon

Israeli forces conduct series of attacks on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon as tit-for-tat strikes intensify.

Iran has warned Israel against “full-scale military aggression” in Lebanon and said it would lead to an “obliterating war”, the Islamic republic’s United Nations mission said.

“All options, [including] the full involvement of all Resistance Fronts, are on the table,” the mission wrote in a post on X late on Friday, referring to Iran-aligned armed groups across the region.

It called Israel’s threats to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon “psychological warfare” and “propaganda”.

The border between the two countries has witnessed daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah since the current conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7. Fears of a full-blown war grew this month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was preparing for “a very tense operation” on the border with Lebanon.

Israeli forces conducted a series of attacks on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, an Israeli army spokesperson said early on Saturday.

“In the past few hours, warplanes attacked several Hezbollah targets, including a military site for the organisation in the Zabqin area, two operational infrastructure sites in the Khiam area, and a Hezbollah building in the al-Adissa [Odaisseh] area,” according to the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his country does not want to fight a war against Hezbollah, but that the army is ready for it.

“We are working on a political solution. That is always the better option,” Gallant said during a visit on Friday to troops near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.

Gallant said this week in the United States that Israel was “preparing for every scenario”.

“Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage in Lebanon if a war is launched,” he said in Washington, DC.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has threatened a war with “no restraint and no rules and no ceilings” in case of a major Israeli offensive against Lebanon.

Amid the growing tensions, several countries, including Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States, have urged their nationals to leave or avoid travel to Lebanon.