Iran has threatened Israel with an “obliterating war” in the event of the country launching a full-scale attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror group, has increased since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks that left roughly 1,200 people dead, with several skirmishes occurring in recent weeks. The escalating conflict has prompted Israel officials to declare that Israel is at an inflection point, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said could result in “very intense action.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said it would “embark on a full-scale military aggression” if Israel attacked Lebanon, where Hezbollah is largely situated, according to a post on X from Friday.
“Albeit Iran deems a psychological warfare the Zionist regime’s propaganda about intending to attack Lebanon, should it embark on full-scale military aggression, an obliterating war will ensure,” the X post said. “All options, incl. the full involvement of Resistance Fronts, are on the table.”
Israel and Hezbollah have fought along Israel’s northern border for decades, and the frequency of these skirmishes has only intensified following Oct. 7.
In April, U.S. forces shot down numerous Iranian drones bound for Israel in retaliation for the country’s airstrikes that killed senior Iranian commanders.
“Yesterday the ground burned here and I am pleased that you have extinguished it, but ground also burned in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said following a Hezbollah attack in early May. “Whoever thinks he can hurt us and we will respond by sitting on our hands is making a big mistake. We are prepared for very intense action in the north.”
