Iran threatens to strike northern Israel if IDF attacks Beirut

TEHERAN – Iran’s Central Military Command has warned residents of northern Israel to leave their homes immediately if Israel proceeds with its threat to attack southern Beirut suburbs. The warning indicates Iran’s plan for a retaliatory strike in the area.

In a statement released by government news agency IRNA, the commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters said the warning was a response to Israel’s military order for forced displacement in Dahiyeh, Lebanon.

Previously, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to target ‘terrorist sites in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district’. Netanyahu reiterated this in a video posted on X.

‘There will be no situation where Hezbollah attacks our cities and citizens while its terrorist bases in Beirut’s Dahiyeh remain untouched,’ he stated.

He added that he had ordered Israeli forces to ‘deepen’ their invasion of southern Lebanon, claiming they were ‘destroying Hezbollah’s strongholds’. ‘Hezbollah is on the run,’ Netanyahu claimed.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that any ceasefire between Tehran and Washington ‘must be comprehensive, including in Lebanon’.

‘A violation on one front constitutes a breach of the ceasefire across all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for any consequences of such violations,’ Araghchi wrote on X. The top diplomat’s comments followed Netanyahu’s announcement that he had ordered military strikes on southern Beirut suburbs.

The European Union also called on Israel to halt its expanding military campaign in Lebanon after Netanyahu stated he had ordered further strikes on southern Beirut suburbs.

‘We urge Israel to cease its military escalation in Lebanon and respect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,’ said EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni.