Iran will support any decision taken by Lebanon in talks to end hostilities with Israel, a senior Iranian official said on Friday, indicating that Tehran wants to see an end to the conflict that has plagued its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, spoke during a visit to Beirut as Israel continued to bomb Hezbollah-controlled areas of the Lebanese capital.
Israel this week stepped up airstrikes on southern areas controlled by Hezbollah – an increase that coincided with indications of a US-led diplomatic push to end the conflict.
The US ambassador to Lebanon sent a cease-fire proposal on Thursday to the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, who has been authorized by Hezbollah to negotiate, two Lebanese political sources told Reuters.
The draft was Washington’s first written proposal to end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah-backed Iran in at least several weeks, the sources said. The sources did not provide details about the content of the proposal.
An Israeli airstrike on Thursday killed at least 12 people, including eight rescuers, and injured 27 others after it struck a civil defense center in Baalbek, northeast of Beirut, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Berri, Larijani said Berri gave him “good explanations.”
“We are not looking to destroy anything,” said Larijani, answering a reporter who asked if he came to Beirut to destroy the American structure.
“We are following a solution to the problems. We support the Lebanese government in all circumstances. Those who are disturbing are Netanyahu and his people,” said Larijani, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
More time is needed to reach a ceasefire agreement
Hezbollah was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, and was armed and funded by Tehran.
The senior diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, assessed that more time was needed for a ceasefire agreement to be reached and hoped it could be achieved.
The diplomacy marks a last-ditch effort by the outgoing US administration to ensure an end to the fighting in Lebanon, as efforts to end the war in Gaza appear to have fallen short.
A major sticking point for Israel is Israel’s demand to retain freedom of action if Hezbollah violates any agreement – a demand Lebanon has rejected.
Israel launched an attack on Hezbollah after a year of cross-border fighting that began with the Gaza war, declaring it wanted to protect the tens of thousands of people forced out of northern Israel.
The Israeli campaign has forced more than a million people to leave their homes in Lebanon, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
Hezbollah faced serious problems, killed its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders, used airstrikes to attack the areas of Lebanon where Hezbollah has political and military control, and sent troops to the south.
Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets into Israel and its forces are fighting Israeli forces in the south.
Airstrike destroys building in Beirut on Friday
On Friday, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a building near one of Beirut’s busiest neighborhoods, Tayouneh, shaking the Lebanese capital. The target building was located in the area where the southern areas meet other parts of the city, a larger target than most that have been hit by Israel.
Before the latest airstrikes, the Israeli military issued a warning on social media pointing to buildings in the south and telling residents to evacuate, saying they were close to Hezbollah bases.
The sound of an incoming missile could be heard on footage showing airstrikes near Tayouneh. The target building became a cloud of rubble and debris that flowed into nearby Horsh Beirut, the city’s largest park.
On Thursday, Eli Cohen, Israel’s energy minister and a member of the security cabinet, told Reuters that the prospect of a ceasefire was the most promising since the conflict began.
Many Palestinians fear that Donald Trump’s election victory makes an Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement even more unlikely. Trump, who defended Israel aggressively during his first term, has already said that Israel should be allowed to ‘finish the job.’
The Washington Post reported that Netanyahu was in a rush to advance the suspension in Lebanon with the aim of bringing early success on foreign policy to US President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to strongly support Israel.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Lebanon said on Friday there was an alarming increase in the number of people targeted by Israeli airstrikes in populated areas across Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,445 people and injured 14,599 others since October 7, 2023, most of them since late September. It does not distinguish between civilian victims and combatants.
Hezbollah attacks have killed about 100 people and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and southern Lebanon last year, according to Israel.
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