BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem warned on Monday that any military attack on Iran would not leave his group on the sidelines, saying such a move could trigger wider regional escalation, local media reported.
"If Israel and the United States launch an aggression against Iran, we will choose how to act at the appropriate time, but we will not be neutral," said Qassem, according to al-Manar local TV channel.
Qassem made the remarks in a televised speech in support of public gatherings held in Beirut's southern suburbs and in the southern city of Nabatieh, organized in solidarity with Iran. He said that any war targeting Iran this time could "set the entire region ablaze."
Also on Monday, Israeli forces carried out an attack in the southern city of Tyre, killing Sheikh Ali Noureddine, a television presenter on Al-Manar TV, and injuring two other people, according to Lebanon Debate, a local news website.
The Israeli military confirmed in a statement on the same day that it targeted a Hezbollah militant in strikes in Tyre. The attack was a "response" to alleged violations of the ceasefire, according to the statement.
A ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, brokered by the United States and France, took effect on Nov. 27, 2024. Despite the agreement, Israeli forces have continued to carry out intermittent strikes in Lebanon, citing security threats from Hezbollah, while maintaining positions at five key points along the Lebanese border.
