Iran Warns of Serious Consequences for Any Israeli Hit on Lebanon

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on July 28, 2024, shows President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian delivering a speech during the official presidential endorsement ceremony by Iran's Supreme Leader. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on July 28, 2024, shows President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian delivering a speech during the official presidential endorsement ceremony by Iran's Supreme Leader. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
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Iran Warns of Serious Consequences for Any Israeli Hit on Lebanon

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on July 28, 2024, shows President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian delivering a speech during the official presidential endorsement ceremony by Iran's Supreme Leader. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on July 28, 2024, shows President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian delivering a speech during the official presidential endorsement ceremony by Iran's Supreme Leader. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Any possible Israeli attack on Lebanon will have serious consequences for Israel, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a phone call with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Iran's state media reported on Monday.

Israeli authorities blamed Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah for a rocket attack that hit a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, killing 12 children and teenagers, and vowed to inflict a heavy response. Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the strike.

"Any possible Israeli attack on Lebanon will have serious consequences for Israel," Pezeshkian was quoted by Iranian state media as saying.

"We are willing to improve our relations with France on the basis of mutual trust," Pezeshkian added in his conversation with Macron.

Macron spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, the French presidency said, as Paris seeks to prevent a broader escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

The presidency said Macron had reminded Netanyahu that France was fully committed to doing "everything to avoid a new escalation in the region by passing messages to all parties involved in the conflict".



Berlin Calls on Iran and Others to Prevent Middle East Escalation 

Israeli security forces and medics transport casualties along with local residents, at a site where a reported strike from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-annexed Golan area on July 27, 2024. (AFP)
Israeli security forces and medics transport casualties along with local residents, at a site where a reported strike from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-annexed Golan area on July 27, 2024. (AFP)
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Berlin Calls on Iran and Others to Prevent Middle East Escalation 

Israeli security forces and medics transport casualties along with local residents, at a site where a reported strike from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-annexed Golan area on July 27, 2024. (AFP)
Israeli security forces and medics transport casualties along with local residents, at a site where a reported strike from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-annexed Golan area on July 27, 2024. (AFP)

The German government has called on all parties to the Middle East conflict, in particular Iran, to prevent an escalation after a rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 children and teenagers last week, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Berlin "assumes with certainty" that the deadly attack on a football field in the Golan Heights was conducted by Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said during a regular press conference.

Recent actions by the Yemen-based Houthi militias, also backed by Iran, had also contributed significantly to instability in the region in recent weeks, he added.

The strike over the weekend has raised fears of a wider conflict in the region, where tensions have intensified due to Israel's war in Gaza, which began more than nine months ago.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has talked to several people including her Lebanese counterpart in an effort to "mitigate the situation and prevent it from escalating", the spokesperson said.

German citizens in Lebanon, of which there are estimated to be about 1,300, are "urgently advised" to leave the country while still possible, the spokesperson said.

"We are very concerned about the situation of the Germans on the ground and are preparing what needs to be prepared," he added.