Iran backs Hezbollah, seeks Israeli pullback

Tehran: Iran has reaffirmed support for Hezbollah and insisted on an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. “This war will end only when it ends in Lebanon as well,” Iranian Foreign Minis­ter Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen. “The end of the war on Lebanon must be accompanied by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they have occupied,” he said.

Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said Hezbollah had “made great sacrifices in the recent war and it is our ally. Therefore, we support Hezbollah and remain firmly committed to our obligations towards it”. “Today we again warn this sinister regime to leave Lebanon. They should know that Lebanon will be an inseparable part of any agreement and any ceasefire,” he said.

Iran has maintained its nuclear plan is for peaceful purposes. Parliament Dy Spe­aker Hamid-Reza Haji Babaei said uranium enrichment was Iran’s right and that US President Donald Trump had failed to understand Iran’s “most powerful atomic bomb” was the Strait of Hormuz.

FIGHTING FLARES

Israel’s air force carried out strikes in southern Lebanon after ordering residents of nine villages to evacuate. Lebanon’s state news agency said six people were killed.

The warning prompted hundreds of families to flee Anqoun and Aarnaya near Sidon. Lebanon reported at least four deaths in Tyre.

Aoun FLAYS IRAN

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Iran of using his war-torn country as a “bargaining chip” in its confrontation with the US and Israel. He said the Lebanese people were “fed up” with the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

UN RAISES AID APPEAL 

The United Nations has more than doubled the funding it says is needed to address Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis. In a fresh appeal on Friday, the UN sought an additional $331.5 million (€285mn) to assist 1.4 million people in need.

HEZBOLLAH WILL WITHDRAW IF ISRAEL PULLS BACK: Berri

Lebanese Parliament Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri said the Iran-backed group would withdraw from southern Lebanon if Israeli troops also left the areas they occupy. “I agree to Hezbollah’s withdrawal from south of the Litani River in parallel with an Israeli withdrawal from the areas it occupies,” said Berri, who acts as a mediator for Hezbollah.

—Agencies