TEL AVIV, June 20. /TASS/. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has issued a warning to Lebanon’s Hezbollah against taking any hostile actions against the Jewish state, threatening to annihilate the Shia movement if it supports Iran.
"The Hezbollah Secretary-General is not learning a lesson from his predecessors and is threatening to act against Israel in accordance with the Iranian dictator's orders. I suggest that the Lebanese proxy be careful and understand that Israel has run out of patience with terrorists who threaten it. If there is terrorism, there will be no Hezbollah," Katz wrote on the X social network.
On June 19, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem said that in a potential conflict with Israel and the United States, Lebanon’s Hezbollah Shia movement will do "what it sees fit." He emphasized that Hezbollah is not a neutral party in the conflict and is fully on Iran’s side. That said, Qassem did not elaborate whether the movement plans full-scale participation in the ongoing armed conflict.
Earlier, the Al Hadath television reported, citing a source close to Hezbollah, that the movement may join Iran in its standoff with Israel and use "heavy weaponry" against the Jewish state. However, the source emphasized that Hezbollah will join the conflict "only if the Iranian government believes it is losing control over the situation."
In the early morning hours of June 13, Israel launched a military operation aimed against Iran’s nuclear program. Iran responded in less than 24 hours. Israel and Iran have continued exchanging strikes ever since. Both parties reported casualties and damage, and admitted that a number of facilities had been hit. The mutual strikes remain ongoing.