Iran Denounces 'Terrorist' Blast in Haret Hreik

Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham condemned on Friday the “terrorist” explosion that targeted a day before Beirut's southern suburbs.

“We strongly denounce the terrorist attack that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs,” Iran's state-run News Agency quoted Afkham as saying.

She pointed out that the “Lebanese people and its wise leaders have been trying to prevent Israeli division conspiracies and will not allow it this time to succeed.”

“Lebanon will cut the hands that are attacking its stability, security and national unity,” Afkham added.

At least four people where killed after a car bomb rocked Dahieh's neighborhood of Haret Hreik, the fourth attack to hit the Hizbullah bastion since it group announced its intervention in Syria last year.

It was the latest in a wave of attacks to hit Lebanon in recent months as the civil war in Syria increasingly spills over into its smaller neighbor. The violence has targeted both Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods, further stoking sectarian tensions that are already running high as each community in Lebanon lines up with its brethren in Syria on opposing sides of the war.

The explosion comes a week after a car bombing in downtown Beirut killed prominent Sunni politician Mohammed Shatah. The former finance minister and top aide to ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri was critical of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Hizbullah allies.

Hizbullah's once seemingly impenetrable bastion of support — Beirut's southern suburbs — also has been hit several times in recent months.