- News code: 1651222
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry has welcomed a ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, reaffirming the Islamic Republic’s unwavering support for the Lebanese government, nation and its resistance movement.
Esmaeil Baghaei in a Wednesday statement reiterated Iran’s “firm support for the Lebanese government, nation and resistance,” stating that Tehran has long underlined the need for an immediate cessation of Israeli aggression against Gaza and Lebanon, and has undertaken extensive diplomatic efforts over the last 14 months toward that goal.
The Iranian diplomat noted that the Zionist entity's warmongering policies and atrocities, with the full support of the United States and certain European states, have resulted in the martyrdom of 60,000 innocent people, injury of 120,000 individuals, displacement of more than 3.5 million people from the oppressed Palestinian and Lebanese nations, and widespread destruction of critical infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
“In light of interim rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to prevent genocidal acts [in Gaza], and the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for the leaders of the Zionist regime on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the world public opinion had been demanding an end to war and genocide over the past 14 months, and is now looking forward to the prosecution and punishment of the criminals of the occupying regime,” Baghaei stated.
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the international community has a responsibility to safeguard peace and stability in West Asia, and exert effective pressure on the aggressive Israeli regime to stop the war on Gaza.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect at 4 a.m. local time in Lebanon (0200 GMT) amid hopes the truce will bring a permanent end to Israeli attacks on Lebanese towns and cities and halt more than a year of fighting in southern Lebanon and the northern sector of the occupied territories.
US President Joe Biden says the deal involves withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon over the next 60 days, with the Lebanese Army and state security forces taking control of territory in the south of the country.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, will also help implement the agreement.
Reuters news agency has reported that streams of cars carrying people displaced from southern Lebanon by Israeli airstrikes have begun to travel south after the start of the ceasefire, despite the Israeli military’s warnings against civilians returning home.
Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on Gaza, including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship, after Palestinian resistance movements carried out an unprecedented military operation dubbed Al-Aqsa Flood against the regime on October 7, 2023.
At least 44,249 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed while 104,746 individuals have sustained injuries.
Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after the Israeli regime unleashed its genocidal war against the besieged territory last October.
More than 3,760 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with nearly 15,700 others injured and more than a million displaced since the onset of hostilities on October 8, 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities.
In late September, the regime also assassinated Hezbollah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a strike in southern Beirut.
