Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has condemned in the strongest terms the pager detonations that have killed at least nine people and wounded thousands more in Lebanon, saying terrorism is an ‘inseparable part’ of the sinister nature of the Israeli regime.
“Terrorism and murder of innocent people are an intrinsic quality of the evil nature of the Zionist regime. As long as the regime exists, it will not stop killing and genocide,” Qalibaf wrote in a post published on his X account on Wednesday.
He added that the Islamic Republic of Iran roundly denounces the Tuesday Israeli terrorist attack in Lebanon, whilst it expresses solidarity with the victims of the latest tragedy in the Arab nation.
Iran stands by the Lebanese nation just as before, Qalibaf pointed out.
Lebanon’s caretaker health minister has said at least nine people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed and 2,750 others wounded by exploding handheld pagers across Lebanon.
Firass Abiad said more than 200 people are in critical condition after the communication devices exploded, with injuries mostly reported to the face, hands and stomach.
“This is a new Israeli aggression against Lebanon. The resistance will retaliate in a suitable way at the suitable time,” prominent Hezbollah legislator Ali Ammar told The Associated Press after his son, Mahdi, was killed.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the wounded include the son of Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah, and the son of senior security official Wafiq Safa.
Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, is also among those injured by the pager explosions.
The attack came a day after Israeli leaders had warned that they were considering stepping up their military campaign against Hezbollah.
The resistance movement has been firing on northern Israeli occupied territories since October last year in solidarity with Palestinians, who are subject to the Tel Aviv regime’s war in Gaza.
The Israeli military is yet to comment, but Hezbollah has accused the regime of orchestrating the attack and vowed to retaliate for the “blatant aggression.”
