November 23, 2023
Iran FM meets Hezbollah chief on Beirut visit
Nasrallah and Amir-Abdollahian discussed some of the ‘existing possibilities’ regarding the course of the ongoing war against Israel
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a meeting on Thursday with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Lebanese capital Beirut, one day after the diplomat’s arrival in Lebanon.
Nasrallah and Amir-Abdollahian “reviewed the latest developments in Palestine, Lebanon and the region, and ... the efforts made to end the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.”
They also discussed the “existing possibilities regarding the course of the war.”
Hezbollah on the same day launched numerous attacks against Israeli border sites.
Forty-eight Katyusha missiles targeted Israel’s Ein Zeitim base around 10 kilometers from the border.
Several other attacks targeted different border sites as well, including the Al-Marj and Al-Raheb sites, resulting in Israeli casualties, according to statements released by Hezbollah.
Israel responded by bombarding southern Lebanese border villages.
The previous day also saw intense crossfire between Hezbollah and Israel. The son of Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad, a fighter among Hezbollah’s ranks, was killed in battle, a statement announced.
The Iranian foreign minister arrived in the Lebanese capital on 22 November, where he met with Ziad al-Nakhala, head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, and Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’ political bureau.
The visit comes after the announcement that Hamas and Israel have agreed to a Qatari-mediated truce and prisoner-release deal in Gaza, which Doha said would be announced within the coming hours.
The deal was reached on Wednesday, and was set to begin the following day. However, it was delayed by Israel until Friday. Intense fighting in Gaza and south Lebanon is ongoing.
Following his arrival in Beirut, Amir-Abdollahian told Al-Mayadeen: “If this ceasefire starts tomorrow, if it does not continue… the conditions in the region will not remain the same as before the ceasefire and the scope of the war will expand.”
If the upcoming truce deal is successfully implemented, fighting between Hezbollah and Israel is expected to decrease.
“The party was not part of the negotiations related to the truce agreement and prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel,” a Hezbollah official told Al-Jazeera on Wednesday, adding that “any Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon or Gaza during the truce would be met with a response from Hezbollah.”