UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday he was “gravely concerned” by the “dramatic escalation” seen in Lebanon in the past day as Israel assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in the capital Beirut.
“The secretary-general is gravely concerned by the dramatic escalation of events in Beirut in the last 24 hours,” Guterres said following Hezbollah’s announcement its chief Hassan Nasrallah had been killed.
Meanwhile, Syria condemned Israel’s killing of the Lebanese group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah. “The Zionist entity (Israel) confirms through this despicable aggression, once again… its barbarism and wanton disregard for all international standards and laws,” said a foreign ministry statement carried by state news agency SANA.
Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref warned that the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike in Lebanon would ultimately lead to Israel’s ” total destruction”.
“We warn the leaders of the occupying regime that the unjust bloodshed… especially of Hezbollah’s secretary general, martyr Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, will bring about their destruction,” Aref was quoted as saying by Iran’s ISNA news agency.
Aref vowed Iran’s unwavering support for Hezbollah and the broader “Islamic resistance” movement, as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah intensify. Iran has long been a key supporter of the Lebanese group.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has strongly criticized Israel’s “short-sighted” policy after overnight strikes in Lebanon, that Israel claimed killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
In a statement, Khamenei condemned the strikes as a “massacre of defenseless people,” highlighting the brutality of the “Zionist rabid dog.” He criticized the “short-sighted and stupid policy” of Israeli leaders.
Khamenei said that Israel is “too weak to cause significant damage to the solid construction of Hezbollah in Lebanon,” and he urged the “Axis of Resistance,” to support Hezbollah. He concluded with a warning that “Lebanon will make the aggressor and the evil enemy regretful.”
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the United States of being complicit in the killing. “The United States shares responsibility for this crime,” Pezeshkian stated, adding that Hezbollah’s fight against Israel would continue.
Iran’s foreign ministry said the path and mission of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah will continue despite his assassination in an Israeli air strike in Beirut, after a year of cross-border clashes between the two sides.
Nasser Kanani, the ministry’s spokesman, said that the “glorious path of the leader of the resistance” would continue towards the liberation of Quds (Jerusalem).
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his condolences, describing Nasrallah as a “symbol of the fight against oppression.”
Meanwhile, a black flag of mourning was raised at the Imam Reza shrine in the Iranian city of Mashhad, where mourners gathered to honor Nasrallah’s legacy. Footage aired on Iranian state television showed large crowds waving yellow Hezbollah flags and chanting anti-Israeli slogans, including “Death to Israel.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Lebanon after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was confirmed among hundreds killed in Israeli strikes this week.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Erdogan condemned Israel’s military actions since the start of its offensive in Gaza on October 7.
“Lebanon and the Lebanese people are the latest target of a policy of genocide, occupation and invasion carried out by Israel since October 7,” Erdogan said, without directly referring to Nasrallah’s death.
Erdogan has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions throughout the Gaza conflict, regularly accusing the country of “genocide.” He reiterated his stance, saying, “No person with a conscience can accept, excuse, or justify such a massacre,” and called for an end to Israel’s “mindless” attempts to spread the conflict across the region.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also condemned the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah as a “crime”.
The Friday attack on Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold that killed Hezbollah’s leader was a “shameful attack” and “a crime that shows the Zionist entity has crossed all the red lines”, Sudani said in a statement. He called Nasrallah “a martyr on the path of the righteous”.
