Lebanon summons Iran envoy over Hezbollah-IRGC attacks: What to know
The move comes after Hezbollah launched over 200 rockets toward Israel, just as Iran fired a barrage of missiles, triggering a violent Israeli escalation in Lebanon.
BEIRUT — Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji summoned Iran’s ambassador to Beirut, Mohammad Reza Sheibani, on Thursday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group launched coordinated attacks against Israel Wednesday night.
Rajji asked the Foreign Ministry’s head, Abdul Sattar Issa, to meet Sheibani on Friday morning to convey Lebanon’s rejection of any Iranian interference in the country’s internal affairs, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The move comes after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam instructed Rajji to summon officials at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut over a report published by Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency referring to a statement by the IRGC announcing a joint operation with Hezbollah, Information Minister Paul Morcos told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Thursday.
The Lebanese government has increased its pressure on Hezbollah and Iranian representatives in Lebanon since the Shiite paramilitary group started launching rockets toward Israel last Monday in support of Iran, triggering a wide-scale Israeli escalation.
