Iran backs Lebanon in ceasefire talks, seeks end to 'problems'

Beirut: Iran backs any decision taken by Lebanon in talks to secure a ceasefire with Israel, a senior Iranian official said on Friday, signalling Tehran wants to see an end to a conflict that has dealt heavy blows to its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

Israel launched airstrikes in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, flattening buildings for a fourth consecutive day. Israel has stepped up its bombardment of the area this week, an escalation that has coincided with signs of movement in US-led diplomacy towards a ceasefire.

After days of intense attacks on the capital, Israeli bombardment flattened five buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh on Friday, including one near one of Beirut's busiest traffic junctions, Tayouneh.

Video showed a building being struck and turning into a cloud of rubble and debris that billowed into Horsh Beirut, the city's main park.

The Israeli military said its fighter jets attacked munitions warehouses, a headquarters and other Hezbollah infrastructure. It issued a warning on social media identifying buildings ahead of the strikes

Two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters the US ambassador to Lebanon had presented a draft ceasefire proposal to Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday. Berri is endorsed by Hezbollah to negotiate and met the senior Iranian official Ali Larijani on Friday.

Asked at a news conference whether he had come to Beirut to undermine the US truce plan, Larijani said: "We are not looking to sabotage anything. We are after a solution to the problems."

"We support in all circumstances the Lebanese government. Those who are disrupting are Netanyahu and his people," he added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hezbollah was founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, and has been armed and financed by Tehran.

On Thursday, Eli Cohen, Israel's energy minister and a member of its security cabinet, told Reuters prospects for a ceasefire were the most promising since the conflict began.

The Washington Post reported Netanyahu was rushing to advance a Lebanon ceasefire with the aim of delivering an early foreign policy win to his ally, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

A senior diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more time was needed to get a ceasefire done but was hopeful it could be achieved.

The outgoing U.S. administration appears keen to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, even as efforts to end Israel's related war in the Gaza Strip appear totally adrift.

Iran says it supports Lebanese position

World powers say a Lebanon ceasefire must be based on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Its terms require Hezbollah to move weapons and fighters north of the Litani river, some 20 km (30 miles) north of the border.

Israel demands the freedom to act should Hezbollah violate any agreement, which Lebanon has rejected.

Meeting with Larijani, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged support for Lebanon's position on implementing 1701 and called this a priority, along with halting "Israeli aggression", his office said.

Larijani said, "Iran supports any decision taken by the government, especially resolution 1701", the statement said.

Israel launched its ground and air offensive against Hezbollah in late September after almost a year of cross-border hostilities in parallel with the Gaza war. It says it aims to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis forced to evacuate from northern Israel under Hezbollah fire.

Israel's campaign has forced more than a million Lebanese to flee their homes, creating a humanitarian crisis.

Israel has also dealt Hezbollah serious blows, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders. Hezbollah has kept up rocket attacks into Israel and its fighters have been battling Israeli troops in the south.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said an artillery shell hit its West Sector headquarters in southern Lebanon's Shama on Thursday, but did not explode. It said no peacekeepers were hurt, and there was only minor damage.

Israel promised to investigate the incident with the shell after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke with Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar and

protested Israeli attacks against Italian personnel

and UNIFIL infrastructure, an Italian statement said.

EU condemns killing of medics

UNIFIL said deliberate attacks on peacekeepers were a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Tajani stressed their "unacceptability."

Separately, UNIFIL said one French peacekeeper died and three others were slightly hurt when a UNIFIL convoy was involved in a road accident along the coastal road near Shama.

The European Union strongly condemned the killing of 12 paramedics in an Israeli strike near Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley on Thursday.

"Attacks on healthcare workers and facilities are a grave violation of international humanitarian law," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on X.

Lebanon's health ministry says Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,445 people through Thursday since Oct. 7, 2023, most since late September. It does not distinguish between civilian casualties and fighters.

Israel says Hezbollah attacks have killed about 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and southern Lebanon over the last year.