AA / Tunisia / Majdi Ismail
Iran has declared five days of mourning and assured that ”Hassan Nasrallah’s line will continue”, the UN Secretary General ”very worried about the dramatic escalation” in Beirut, US President Joe Biden believes that the assassination of Nasrallah is “a measure of justice for his many victims”…Here are the main reactions on Saturday after the assassination of the leader of Hezbollah by Israel:
*Iran
Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, warned Saturday that Nasrallah’s assassination will lead to the “destruction of Israel.”
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani assured that the “glorious line of resistance leader Hassan Nasrallah will continue and his sacred goal will be achieved with the liberation of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), God willing.
Iran has declared five days of mourning.
*Lebanon
The Lebanese government declared three days of national mourning on Saturday following the assassination of the leader of Hezbollah.
“Following the martyrdom of the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, who joins the list of people killed by the perfidious Israeli aggression against Lebanon, official mourning is decreed”, from September 30 to October 2 inclusive, indicates the government in a press release .
*UNITED STATES
Nasrallah’s assassination is “a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of American, Israeli and Lebanese civilians,” US President Joe Biden said on Saturday. He added that ”The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself”.
US Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris called Hezbollah leader a ‘terrorist with American blood on his hands’.
*Russia
Moscow “strongly condemned” the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, attributing “full responsibility” to Israel for the possible “dramatic consequences” in the region.
“We must not resort to terrorist methods and bloodshed for political purposes,” declared the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov.
And added: ”My impression is that some people are trying to provoke Iran, to then provoke the United States and then start an all-out war in the entire region.”
*Türkiye
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that “Lebanon and the Lebanese people are the new target of the policy of genocide, occupation and invasion carried out by Israel since October 7.”
The Turkish leader also called for an end to Israel’s “attempts to extend its senseless policies in Gaza, Lebanon and other countries in the region.”
*Syria
Syria denounced a “despicable aggression” and castigated the “disregard for international law” on the part of Israel.
*Germany
The head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, stressed that the situation is “very dangerous” and that there is a risk of “destabilization” which is “not at all in the interest of the security of Israel.
The French Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, stressed that the situation in Lebanon “remains extremely serious” and affirmed “being concerned about the security” of the French there.
French Diplomacy then expressed “France’s extreme concern over the developments of recent hours in Lebanon”, calling for an “immediate cessation of Israeli strikes in Lebanon”.
France ”condemns any indiscriminate action against civilians” and ”is opposed to any land operation in Lebanon,” adds a statement from the Quai d’Orsay.
Furthermore, ”it calls on other actors, and in particular Hezbollah and Iran, to refrain from any action likely to lead to additional destabilization and regional conflagration”, demanding that ”security and peace protection of civilians, in Lebanon as in Israel”, are “guaranteed”.
*United Nations
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “very concerned about the dramatic escalation” in Beirut over the past twenty-four hours.
”This cycle of violence must stop now and all parties must step back from the abyss. The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the region, cannot support a total war,” he warned.
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