Enough Is Eπough: Iran Vows Revenge As Israel Continues Bombing Of Lebanon After Killing Of Hezbollah Leader, Nasrallah
Despite the growing tension in the middle East amid the Israeli’s airstrike that killed the longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Abbas Nilforoushan, Israel Defense Forces has continued to bomb Lebanon.
Several world leaders have condemned Israeli’s killing of Nasrallah. Some countries including Russia and majority of global South nations described it as a “political assassination”, warning that Israel’s unrestrained action would possibly trigger a wider conflict in the Middle East.
According to NBC News, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed in a statement that Nilforoushan was killed in the same strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Nilforoushan was one of the most senior Iranian commanders to be killed in recent years.
While Iran has vowed to retaliate the killing of Nasrallah, United States President Joe Biden has justified the killing of the Hezbollah leader, describing it as “a measure of justice” for victims of its long military activities.
Israel escalation of its bombing campaign has resulted to the killing of over 1,000 people in Lebanon, according to local officials, with hundreds of thousands displaced.
Iran, which backs the powerful militant group, vowed Nasrallah’s death “will not go unavenged.”
The US is considering increasing its military presence in the Middle East as fears grow of a broader regional conflict.
NBC News, citing two unnamed US officials, said the military has presented Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with options for moving additional forces to the region.
The defense secretary later reportedly discussed the change of posture with President Biden and national security officials. The outlet said that while no immediate decisions were made, Austin has the authority to send in additional forces.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon moved to reinforce its military presence in the Middle East as tensions between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel were soaring. There are currently around 40,000 US troops in the region, including over a dozen warships.
US officials told the network that the Pentagon considers these forces adequate for the potential challenges, but could extend some current deployments or make adjustments in air defense and other capabilities. The US is also prepared to support an emergency evacuation of American civilians from the region, if necessary, the article said.
Meanwhile, officials in West Jerusalem have claimed to have wiped out nearly all of Hezbollah’s military leaders over the past few weeks.
Following Nasrallah’s assassination, Hezbollah pledged to continue “its jihad in confronting the enemy, in support of Gaza and Palestine.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that “the blood of the martyr will not go unavenged.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran that the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon shows that no place in the Middle East is beyond the reach of Israel.
Netanyahu, who stated this in televised address on Saturday, warned Iran – referring to it as the “ayatollahs’ regime” – that Israel will retaliate against any state that threatens it.
“Those who strike at us, we will strike at them. There is nowhere in Iran or the Middle East beyond the reach of the long arm of Israel, and today you know how true that is,” he said.
