Nasrallah says Iran, Hezbollah may begin responding to Syria strikes
Nasrallah says Iran, Hezbollah may begin responding to Syria strikes
The chief of the Hezbollah terror group on Saturday warned it could respond to Israeli airstrikes in Syria targeting mainly Iranian positions and what Israel says are weapons shipments.
Hassan Nasrallah said the alliance between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, Iran, and his Lebanese Hezbollah movement could end its policy of not responding to the Israeli strikes.
“At any moment the Syrian leadership and the axis of resistance can take a decision to deal with the Israeli aggression in a different manner,” Nasrallah said in a wide-ranging interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen TV network.
Addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly, Nasrallah warned that a misstep could lead to a wider conflict.
“Be cautious not to exaggerate what you are doing in Syria. Miscalculation could drag the region into a war or a major confrontation,” he said.
Israel says it has carried out thousands of strikes against Iranian targets in Syria to keep Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force from entrenching itself there.
It has also carried out strikes against shipments of advanced missiles to Hezbollah.
Jerusalem has recently begun to open up about its years-long campaign in Syria, a move some have said may push Iran, Hezbollah or Syria into responding.
Most airstrikes have passed with no retaliation. Last week, Iran fired a missile from Syria at Israel following a rare daytime strike near Damascus. It was intercepted by an Iron Dome air defense battery.
Israel has warned it will continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
Reacting to the interview, the Arabic spokesman for Israel’s military wrote on Twitter that Nasrallah is “isolated on all sides.”
“Lebanese citizens know you aren’t defending Lebanon, but destroying Lebanon,” Avichay Adraee tweeted.
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Read More: Times of Israel
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