• Wion
  • /World
  • /Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon would risk response from Iran, says top US military officer

Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon would risk response from Iran, says top US military officer

Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon would risk response from Iran, says top US military officer

Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon would risk response from Iran, says top US military officer

United States top military official on Sunday (June 23) warned that any sort of military offensive by Israel against Lebanon could lead to a response from Iran in defence of the Hezbollah group which would pose challenges for Washington to strengthen Tel Aviv's air defence.

Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that Iran would be more inclined to support Hezbollah than the Palestinian militant group Hamas especially if they felt that "Hezbollah was being significantly threatened".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his forces would be deployed along the northern border with Lebanon, where the fighting with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group has intensified, once the intense phase of the ongoing war in Gaza comes to an end.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Netanyahu further stated that Israel would return its displaced citizens to their evacuated northern border communities amid fears of a full-scale war in Lebanon.

"After the intense phase is finished, we will have the possibility to move part of the forces north. And we will do this. First and foremost for defensive purposes. And secondly, to bring our (evacuated) residents home," the Israeli PM stated in an interview to Israel's Channel 14.

He then said that he would try to fix this 'diplomatically' but would solve it 'in another way' if needed.

"If we can we will do this diplomatically. If not, we will do it another way. But we will bring (the residents) home," he said.

The Israeli military and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have been trading fire for more than eight months in parallel with the Gaza war that started in early October last year. Since the Israel-Hamas war began, there have been almost daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, sparking fears of a full-blown war between the two.

The United Nations warned on Friday (June 21) it was concerned about the escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon.

"One rash move - one miscalculation - could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination. Let's be clear: The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

(With inputs from agencies)