AFP, Europa Press, Sputnik and Prensa Latina
The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, September 18, 2024, p. 24
Tehran. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri yesterday had a telephone conversation with his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bu Habib, in which he accused Israel of the synchronized attack with devices that were in the possession of Hezbollah members, and offered his collaboration to care for some of the more than 4,000 wounded.
Bou Habib welcomed Tehran’s offer, while the Lebanese Council of Ministers condemned the attack and called on the United Nations to assume its responsibility for the attack. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry announced that it would file a complaint with the Security Council as soon as sufficient information is gathered on the attack, which claimed nine lives.
The United States urged Tehran not to take advantage of the situation to create more instability in the region. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller added that his country was not involved during the attack he did not even know that it would take place.
Risk of escalating violence grows: UN
The spokesman for the Secretary General of the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, called it extremely worrying the situation in Lebanon and stated in a press conference that the recent events take place in a context extremely volatile in the region, with the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip and the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.
We cannot stress enough the risks of an escalation in Lebanon and the region.Dujarric said, adding that both Secretary-General António Guterres and his envoys stressed the need to reduce tensions. He also deplored the loss of life.
Hamas denounced the series of explosions as a Zionist terrorist aggressionwhile Yemen’s Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdelsalam described it on his X account as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Hezbollah allies – including Palestinian militias – expressed their support for Lebanon and blamed the Zionist enemy.
The Arab League, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Cuba have joined in condemning the Israeli attack using communications devices in Lebanon.
