Russia says Iran and Lebanon want to avoid 'big war'
Hezbollah is not eager to ramp up its hostilities against Israel, the Russian foreign minister has said.
Moscow does not believe that Iran, Lebanon or Hezbollah want the Israel-Palestine war to escalate into a broader regional conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told Russia’s RT television.
Concerns continue to be raised that the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas could spark a wider war in the Middle East.
Israel’s defense minister has threatened to bomb the Lebanese capital Beirut in a similar way to Israel’s campaign in Gaza, while some U.S. hawks have called for an attack on Iran.
Moscow, however, believes there is “no appetite” for a major conflict in Lebanon or Iran, Lavrov stated, adding that neither country wants “any involvement in this crisis.”
While there have been border clashes between Israeli troops and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Lavrov claimed that recent televised remarks by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah suggest that the group has “no appetite for a big war.”
That may change if Hezbollah is provoked into action by an attempt to force Palestinians out of Gaza, the Russian diplomat warned.
The same assessment is true for Iran, Lavrov argued, regardless of an escalation of attacks by militia forces on American bases in the region, which Washington has blamed on Tehran.
“Yes, Americans say that some pro-Iranian armed groups in Syria and Iraq are trying to attack American military sites,” the Russian minister said, describing such incidents as “nothing new.”
Lavrov suggested that the U.S. military presence in Syria was clearly illegal and was also questionable in Iraq, considering that the latter country’s parliament had ordered the government to oust American forces in 2020.
Regional militias may be “agitated” by the mistreatment of Palestinians and proceed to “bite the Americans and the Israelis here and there,” but that does not indicate an intention by senior leadership to escalate the situation, Lavrov said.
However, he warned against perceiving this restraint as “weakness and a greenlight” for Israel to have a free hand in Gaza.
Israel has besieged Gaza since Hamas launched a surprise deadly incursion last month, allegedly killing hundreds of civilians and capturing scores of hostages. Israel’s response, which it claims is necessary to “obliterate” the Palestinian militant group, has resulted in over 11,000 deaths in Gaza.
Source: Naharnet
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