NEW YORK, July 16. /TASS/. Israel’s potential invasion of Lebanon will become an "unreturnable hell" for the Jewish state, Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani told Newsweek.

"Over the past nine months, the Zionists have failed in the fighting in Gaza. <...> If they want to enter into Lebanon, it will be a very deep well for them. <...> Lebanon will be an unreturnable hell for the Zionists," he said, replying to a question about the conflict potentially escalating.

In his opinion, the balance of forces in the region has changed after Hamas attacked Israel and Israel launched its operation in the Gaza Strip. According to the Iranian diplomat, the Israelis "can intentionally and voluntarily enter into Lebanon and expand the war to Lebanon, but they cannot through their own will end the war or the tensions."

In mid-June, the Israel Defense Forces approved plans for an offensive in Lebanon. Following its operation against the Palestinian radical movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel plans to attack the Lebanon-based Shiite party Hezbollah, too. Like Hamas, Hezbollah has been opposed to Israel as it has been sporadically shelling its territory. The intensity of Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon has increased since October 2023.