Israel Probes Iranian Involvement In Rocket Fire From Lebanon
A barrage of rockets were fired on northern Israel Thursday in the worst such tensions since the 2006 war, which could lead to expanded conflict and involve Iran.
A barrage of rockets were fired on northern Israel Thursday in the worst such tensions since the 2006 war, which could lead to expanded conflict and involve Iran.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said so far, 34 rockets had been fired into Israel, 25 of which intercepted, with five landing in Israeli territory.
Though Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, the onslaught follows growing tensions with Iran.
An IDF spokesperson told reporters in late afternoon, that Israeli leaders will look into Hezbollah's involvement, although at this point the attacks appear to have been launched by Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The spokesperson also said that Israel is "checking Iranian involvement."
He said: "Hezbollah probably knew about the attack as it was in south Lebanon, and Lebanon has a responsibility. We are looking into Iranian involvement."
The statement probably point to Israeli reluctance to blame Hezbollah outright, since that would mean pressure to retaliate against the well-armed, Iran-backed group and a wider war on two fronts for Israel.
In 2023, Israel has launched at least ten attacks on Iranian facilities and infrastructure in Iran, including killing major figures in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Council.
Israel's Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, warned the perpetrators "not to test Israel" as the rockets rained down on Thursday, warning of a harsh response.
Iran's Press TV, the voice of the regime, tried to distance its largest proxy from the rocket exchange, attributing it to "Palestinian factions, not Hezbollah", stating it was "retaliatory attacks from Lebanon on Israel following the Israeli regime's forces' aggression on al-Aqsa Mosque".
Tensions in Israel have mounted over the last two days as Hamas members barricaded themselves into the holy Al Aqsa mosque, leading to violent confrontations with Israel Police.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was in Beirut meeting with counterparts at Hezbollah just hours before the strikes were launched from Hezbollah controlled territory, suggesting a coordinated effort by the militia groups which deem Israel at its weakest point in years.
Israel has been bitterly divided by internal political debate over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s proposed reforms, which have seen three months of mass protest. In echoes of the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the barrage also came at the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover, when most of the country is at home with families.
Netanyahu has called a meeting of his top security advisors for an emergency session to take place Thursday evening, as the situation escalates across the border with Gaza, under Hamas control, Lebanon and at the Al Aqsa mosque.
The UN’s peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, had been told to take cover in shelters as the two sides traded blows while residents in northern Israel are currently in shelters.
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Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that a meeting of the two delegations took place and they issued a joint statement “on expanding relations and cooperation.”
Tasnim news agency affiliated with the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard reported that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed practical measures related to the re-opening of their embassies and consulates. They also exchanged views, Tasnim said, on “certain issues related to their bilateral relations,” without providing details.
Reuters reported that the two countries agreed to resume flights and bilateral visits of official and private sector delegations, in addition to facilitating visas for citizens, the statement said.
After years of hostility that fueled conflicts across the Middle East, Tehran and Riyadh agreed to end their diplomatic rift and re-open embassies in a major deal facilitated by China last month.
In brief footage broadcast on Iranian state TV on Thursday, bin Farhan and Amir-Abdollahian, greet each other before sitting down side by side.
In March, China's President Xi Jinping helped broker a surprise deal between regional rivals Tehran and Riyadh to end a seven-year rift and restore diplomatic ties - a display of China's growing influence in the region.
In March, Xi spoke by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud about several issues.
Beijing's role in the breakthrough between Tehran and Riyadh shook up dynamics in the Middle East, where the United States was for decades the main mediator.
Iran’s regime that is shunned by the West and isolated politically and under US sanctions has heralded the revival of ties with Riyadh as a significant victory and a defeat for the United States in the region.
Critics in the US have blamed the Biden Administration for pushing Saudi Arabia toward China and restoring relations with Iran, by pursuing the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran and losing the trust of Saudi leaders as the great power in the region.
Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran was stormed by mob of hardliners supporters of the regime during a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh's execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric.
The kingdom then asked Iranian diplomats to leave within 48 hours while it evacuated its embassy staff from Tehran.
The relationship began worsening a year earlier, after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened in the Yemen war, where the Iran-aligned Houthi movement ousted a Saudi-backed government and took over the capital, Sanaa.
For Saudi Arabia, the deal could mean improved security. The kingdom has blamed Iran for arming the Houthis, who carried out missile and drone attacks on its cities and oil facilities.
In 2019, Riyadh blamed a massive attack on Aramco oil facilities, which knocked out half of its oil output, directly on the Islamic Republic. Tehran denied those allegations.
With reporting by Reuters