TEHRAN — Iran welcomed the end of Israel’s “aggression” in Lebanon after a ceasefire came into force on Wednesday between Israel and Tehran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah, while also indicating that the development could influence its plans to avenge an October Israeli strike on the country.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stressed in a statement Iran’s “firm support for the Lebanese government, nation and resistance.”
He also called on the international community to “exert effective pressure” to end the war in Gaza, where Israel is battling Iran-backed terror group Hamas.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect under an agreement brokered by the United States and France that aims to end almost 14 months of Hezbollah-initiated fighting across the northern border.
Also on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would “support” any decisions made by the parties in Lebanon.
“If [the] Lebanese government and Hezbollah are happy with this ceasefire, we are happy too. We’ll support that,” Araghchi said during a press conference in Portugal.
Asked whether the ceasefire could lead to an easing of tensions between Israel and Iran, Araghchi said: “It depends on the behavior of Israel.”
“Of course, we reserve the right to react to the recent Israeli aggression, but we do consider all developments in the region,” he said, referring to an Israeli air raid on Iran in October, which itself was a response to a massive Iranian missile attack on Israel.
While Iran had previously said it would support the Lebanese government and Hezbollah in the decisions on a truce, The New York Times reported earlier this month that Tehran had urged the terror group to accept the deal.
According to the report, Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with Lebanese officials in Beirut to pass on the message. Citing two unnamed officials linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the report said Larijani pressed Hezbollah to agree to the terms of the ceasefire while reassuring the group that Iran would help rebuild its forces and capabilities, which were significantly depleted by Israeli attacks.
Displaced Lebanese residents return from Syria at the Masnaa border crossing, eastern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah November 27, 2024. (Hassan Ammar/AP)
Earlier, Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iraqi group backed by Iran, said it would not be bound by the agreement and would continue attacking Israel.
Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause a pillar of its foreign policy since the advent of the Islamic Republic in 1979. It has repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction.
Israel dealt several significant blows to Hezbollah during the war, including killing the group’s long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah in September, as well as many other top-ranking officials.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said the truce in Lebanon would allow his country to “focus on the Iranian threat,” without elaborating.
In what appeared to be a response to Netanyahu’s remarks, Araghchi said, “If the Israeli regime wants to… concentrate on Iran they can try.”
Araghchi added that Tehran was not looking for “escalation in the region,” while claiming that Israel was.
“Of course, we are prepared for a war, for even a full-scale war, but this is not our… choice,” he added.
Israel struck targets in Iran on October 26 in retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage against Israel on October 1.
Larijani said in an interview published by Iran’s Tasnim news agency on Sunday that his country was preparing to “respond” to Israel.
Hezbollah began firing into Israel the day after Palestinian terror group Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, drawing Israeli reprisals and leading to the displacement of some 60,000 residents of northern Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in a video statement about the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal, November 26, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)
Fighting intensified in late September, with Israel killing much of Hezbollah’s leadership and launching a limited ground incursion on October 1 that has seen soldiers search villages for rockets and other arms held by the terror group, and tackle its terror tunnels and other infrastructure.
The fighting drew Israel into direct conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah’s sponsor, Iran, which has twice fired barrages of hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel for the first time in history. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah all avowedly seek the destruction of Israel.
Israel allegedly carried out a limited strike in response to the first attack in April. That drone and missile assault was largely thwarted by Israeli air defenses in cooperation with a US-led coalition of regional forces.
Then on October 1, Tehran launched some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, sending most of the population rushing to bomb shelters and safe rooms. The assault on Israel caused relatively minor damage to military bases and some residential areas and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank.
Israel responded with wide-ranging strikes on Iran’s military sites on October 26. Iran has repeatedly vowed to retaliate.
