Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned "no one can stop" forces opposed to Israel if it keeps up its bombardment of Gaza. This comes as renewed clashes erupted between Lebanese armed groups and Israeli forces on the countries' border.
Since Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border with Israel on 7 October and killed more than 1,400 people, Iran has maintained close contacts with its allies across the region.
Speaking on Tuesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: "If the crimes of the Zionist [Israeli] regime continue, Muslims and resistance forces will become impatient, and no one can stop them.
"No one should expect [that certain parties like Iran] can prevent the resistance forces" from taking action, said the supreme leader, who has the final say in major state policies in Iran.
"No matter what the Zionist regime does, it cannot make up for the scandalous failure it suffered ... Regarding the situation in Gaza, we all have a responsibility to react; we must react."
France on Wednesday advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon, given the "security tensions in the region, especially at the southern border" (with Israel).
Officials in Iran often use the term "axis of resistance" to refer to the Islamic republic and its allied forces across the Middle East, including Lebanon's Hezbollah and other Shiite forces in Iraq and Syria.
Israel has responded to the Hamas attack with air and artillery bombardment of the Gaza Strip that has killed at least 2,750 Palestinians – mostly civilians.
If Zionist regime’s crimes continue, resistance forces cannot be stopped#PalestineGenocide pic.twitter.com/zL2FetZitg
— Khamenei Media (@Khamenei_m) October 17, 2023
'Resistance front'
Meanwhile, Israel has deployed tens of thousands of troops on its border with Gaza in preparation for a full-scale ground offensive into the Hamas-controlled enclave.
It has told some one million Gazans – nearly half the territory's population of 2.4 million – to leave the north of the Gaza Strip in anticipation of the operation.
Iran has repeatedly warned a ground invasion of Gaza will be met with a response on other fronts – prompting fears of a wider conflict that could draw in other countries.
On Monday, Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, spoke of a possible "pre-emptive action" against Israel by the "resistance front" while President Ebrahim Raisi said time was running out to reach a political solution.
Amir-Abdollahian reportedly spoke by telephone about the situation with the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell on Tuesday.
He described "the US encouragement of the Zionist regime to carry out more attacks against civilians in Gaza" as an important factor in the continuation and expansion of the war.
Tehran, which financially and militarily backs Hamas militants, celebrated the Hamas assault but has insisted it was not involved.
For its part, the White House said Tuesday that it sees no signs of a deepening engagement from Iran in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Violence on Lebanon-Israeli border
Meanwhile, clashes erupted again on the border between Lebanon and Israel after an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon reportedly landed in the town of Metula in northern Israel on Tuesday morning, injuring three people.
No group in Lebanon has immediately claimed responsibility for the missile attack and it remains unclear if the injured were civilians or soldiers.
Having ordered civilians to evacuate the area near the border with Lebanon, Israel responded by striking several areas across southern Lebanon with artillery fire and white phosphorus.
Two more anti-tank missiles were reportedly fired from Lebanon at the Yiftah kibbutz in northern Israel without any casualties.
An anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel earlier today. 2 IDF reservists were injured, 1 lightly and 1 moderately. They were evacuated to a hospital to receive further medical treatment.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2023
An Israeli civilian was injured as well.
Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli military said it killed four militants who had attempted to plant explosive devices on a border wall between Israel and Lebanon.
Last week, militants from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in southern Lebanon crossed the border and clashed with Israeli troops, killing three and wounding several others.
The militants were killed and the Palestinian group held funerals for two of them.
There are fears that Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups in the region may escalate the fight with Israel to support Hamas in case of a ground incursion into Gaza.
So far, artillery exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel have been limited to several towns along the border.
(with AFP, Reuters)
