Hezbollah urged Iran in recent days to launch an attack against Israel as fighting between the Lebanese militant group and the Israeli military dramatically escalated, but Iran has so far refrained, two Israeli officials and one Western diplomat told Axios.
Why it matters: A direct Iranian attack against Israel would dramatically destabilize the region even further and likely draw the U.S. into more active fighting.
- Two Israeli officials said Iranian officials told their Hezbollah counterparts that “the timing isn’t right” for launching an attack against Israel because the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian is currently in New York for the UN General Assembly.
- In a briefing with reporters on Monday in New York, Pezeshkian said Israel is the party seeking a wider war in the region and stressed that Iran doesn’t want to fall into this “trap.”
- A senior Israeli official said the security cabinet directive to Israel Defense Forces is to avoid steps the would give Iran a reason or a pretext to join the fighting.
- The Iranian mission to the UN and a spokesperson for Hezbollah didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Driving the news: Israel and Hezbollah over the last two weeks engaged in the most intense fighting between them since the 2006 war in Lebanon.
R&I ~ MJM
Anothermike
Article URL : https://www.axios.com/2024/09/24/hezbollah-israel-iran-attack-us-intelligence