Iran Warns Of More 'Crushing Blows' If Israel Expands Attacks Against Lebanon

(MENAFN- IANS) Tehran, June 8 (IANS) Ali Abdollahi, chief commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned that Israel will face more "crushing and regret-inducing blows" if it expands its attacks on southern Lebanon and Dahieh district south of the Lebanese capital, Beirut or responds to Iran's action.

In a statement aired by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday (local time), he stressed that Israel must stop its attacks on southern Lebanon and Dahieh; otherwise, "devastating" attacks will begin against Israel and its supporters.

Israel has increased its "malicious actions" against Lebanese people on a daily basis with the US "greenlight" and international organisations' lack of response and "is perpetrating war crimes by using banned weapons, including phosphorus bombs," Abdollahi said.

Despite Iran's earlier warnings, Israel has increased its attacks on southern Lebanon and has targeted Dahieh by crossing all red lines, he said.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that its aerospace force has launched ballistic missiles at the Ramat David Air Base in northern Israel in response to Israel's "widespread crimes" in southern Lebanon, including the killing and displacement of civilians, reports Xinhua news agency, citing local media.

In a statement published on its official news outlet, Sepah News, the IRGC said the Israeli air base has been the origin of the "aggressions" against Lebanon.

It emphasised that Iran's acceptance of a ceasefire with the United States and Israel on April 8 was conditional on a truce on all fronts, but as always, the United States and Israel did not adhere to their commitments and continued their "aggressions and crimes" in Lebanon, "attacking Iranian shores and vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean."

It added that Iran's military operation on Sunday was a warning, and in case the "aggressions" are repeated, the responses will be broader and will encompass all the US and Israeli targets in the West Asia region.

In a Sunday post on the social platform X, Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said, "Iran had repeatedly declared that it would not tolerate violations of the ceasefire or aggression against Lebanon."

"This response is a warning for them to cease their villainy; every new action will be met with a more crushing response and heavier costs," he said.

Following the attacks, Iran's Civil Aviation Authority said the country's western airspace will be closed until further notice in view of the security and safety assessments, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

A ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel took effect on April 8, ending 40 days of hostilities that began after Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran on February 28.

In recent weeks, Iran and the United States have reportedly exchanged several proposals outlining conditions for peace and are working to finalise a memorandum of understanding aimed at formally ending the conflict.

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