Iran condemns Israel’s “brutal” attack on Beirut

September 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the “brutal and malicious” attack carried out by Israel in the south of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, which claimed the lives of a senior official of the Shiite party-militia Hezbollah and more than a dozen other people.

The ministry’s spokesman, Naser Kanani, said that the attack – which comes shortly after “the mass killing of the Lebanese people” following the explosion of thousands of communication devices – is “a serious violation of international law.”

In this regard, he stressed that this bombing violates “the sovereignty and territorial integrity” as well as the “national security” of Lebanon, and has therefore urged the international community to condemn the attack “in the strongest terms.”

“There is no doubt that the Zionist regime, contrary to the overwhelming majority of governments and nations in the world on the need for a ceasefire, seeks to escalate tensions,” he added.

The Iranian spokesman also said that the “malicious” policy of the Israeli authorities “is a clear and maximum threat to international peace and security,” according to the state news agency ISNA.

At least 14 people have been killed and 66 others injured in southern Beirut in what the Israeli army has described as a “targeted bombing”, according to a report confirmed by the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Hours after the attack, the Israeli army has finally announced who the target of its attack was. It is Ibrahim Akil, who was carrying a seven million dollar (about 6.3 million euros) bounty from the United States.

Akil, alias ‘Tahsin’, was a member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, the group’s main military body. He was part of the Islamic Jihad Organization, which claimed responsibility for the 1983 US Embassy bombings in Beirut and a hostage-taking in the same decade.