UN special coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag has asked Iran to help restore calm in Lebanon.
She made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday in reference to the recent escalation of tension between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel, Fars news agency reported. Several Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper were killed on Wednesday in an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel, according to Reuters. The soldiers were killed when Hezbollah fired five missiles at a convoy of Israeli military vehicles on the frontier with Lebanon. The peacekeeper, serving with a UN monitoring force in southern Lebanon, was killed as Israel responded with air strikes and artillery fire. Hezbollah’s attack was in retaliation for a Jan. 18 Israeli airstrike in southern Syria that killed several Hezbollah members and an Iranian general.
Amir Abdollahian said Hezbollah launched the attack based on its “legitimate” right to defend itself, stressing that Iran has always backed efforts to help bring stability to Lebanon.
