{"id":310932,"date":"2026-02-26T08:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/310932\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T08:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:15:12","slug":"hezbollah-official-we-will-not-intervene-in-event-of-limited-us-strikes-on-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/310932\/","title":{"rendered":"Hezbollah official: We will not intervene in event of &#8216;limited&#8217; US strikes on Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Hezbollah official said Wednesday that the Lebanese terror group will not intervene militarily in the event of \u201climited\u201d US strikes on its backer Iran, but will consider any attack against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a \u201cred line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While US President Donald Trump has for weeks threatened major military action against Iran, The New York Times<a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/trump-mulling-limited-iran-strike-could-try-for-regime-change-later-report\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> reported<\/a> Sunday that he is considering launching a limited strike to pressure Tehran to agree to his nuclear demands. If the Islamic Republic continues to hold out, that strike could be followed by a far larger campaign later this year targeting regime change, the report said.<\/p>\n<p>Hezbollah\u2019s leader, Naim Qassem, has said that his group is in a \u201cdefensive position,\u201d but it would consider itself \u201ctargeted\u201d by any US attack on Iran.<\/p>\n<p>However, the group\u2019s official told AFP on condition of anonymity: \u201cIn the event of limited US strikes on Iran, Hezbollah\u2019s position will be to not intervene militarily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the group determines, however, that the United States is trying to \u201cprovoke the downfall of the Iranian regime or to target the supreme leader, Hezbollah will then intervene,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel&#8217;s Daily Edition<br \/>\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/terms\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">terms<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The official predicted that in a hypothetical scenario where the US attempted to militarily unseat the Iranian government, US-ally Israel would \u201cinevitably wage a war against Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t<a href=\"https:\/\/static-cdn.toi-media.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26052435196369.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3762291\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26052435196369-640x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\"\/><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tMourners carry the coffins of three Hezbollah fighters killed in Israeli strikes during their funeral procession in the village of Nabi Sheet in eastern Lebanon, February 21, 2026. (AP Photo\/Bilal Hussein)<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, the Israeli military has stepped up airstrikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/idf-escalates-strikes-on-hezbollah-as-fears-grow-of-iran-directed-assault-on-israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">assessments<\/a> indicating that the Iran-backed terror group may join Tehran in a new conflict against Israel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat the Lebanese fear is a chain reaction: an American strike against Iran, a Hezbollah retaliatory strike against Israel, followed by a massive Israeli response,\u201d said a Lebanese official who requested anonymity.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, two senior Lebanese officials <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/israel-said-to-warn-lebanon-itll-be-hit-hard-if-hezbollah-takes-part-in-any-us-iran-war\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a> that Israel recently sent an indirect message to Lebanon that it would strike the country hard, targeting civilian infrastructure, including the airport, in the event that Hezbollah gets involved in any US-Iran war.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are signs that the Israelis could strike very hard in the event of an escalation, potentially including strategic infrastructure such as the airport,\u201d Lebanon\u2019s Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said Tuesday in Geneva.<\/p>\n<p>\t<a href=\"https:\/\/static-cdn.toi-media.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26055531931974.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3762292\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26055531931974-640x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\"\/><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tLebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji addresses\u00a0the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, February 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jamey Keaten)<\/p>\n<p>Raggi said Lebanese authorities had appealed to Hezbollah not to respond in any way that could trigger \u201cbad situations\u201d for Lebanese civilians, stressing: \u201cThis war does not concern us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, whose government has sought the disarmament of Iran-backed Hezbollah since taking office a year ago, urged the terror group not to drag the country into a new conflict, speaking in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday: \u201cThe Gaza adventure imposed a high cost on Lebanon. We hope that we will not be dragged into another adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023 and 2024, the Israeli military said it only targeted sites belonging to the Iran-backed terror group. No Israeli strikes targeted key Lebanese infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>The Israel-Hezbollah war started when the terror group began firing missiles across the border on October 8, 2023 \u2014 a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.<\/p>\n<p>\t<a href=\"https:\/\/static-cdn.toi-media.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26038435895111-1.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3756086\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26038435895111-1-640x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\"\/><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tPeople gather as Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam tours areas in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel that the Lebanese army says it has been cleared of the armed presence of the Hezbollah terror group, in the village of Yarine, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mohammed Zaatari)<\/p>\n<p>The November 2024 ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel followed an Israeli ground invasion and concurrent air assault that severely degraded the group and killed much of its leadership.<\/p>\n<p>Israel has consistently targeted what it says are Hezbollah attempts to rebuild its force following the November 2024 ceasefire that ended a year of conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group.<\/p>\n<p>Under the agreement, Hezbollah was required to withdraw and disarm south of the Litani River, but Israel alleges that the terror group remains entrenched in the area, leading the IDF to conduct near-daily strikes.<\/p>\n<p>Lebanon\u2019s government has committed to disarming Hezbollah, and the army last month said it had completed the first phase of its plan to do so, covering the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border about 30 kilometers (20 miles) further south.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tIs accurate Israel coverage important to you?\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>If so, we have a request.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Every day during the past two years of war and rising global anti-Zionism and antisemitism, our journalists kept you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fact-based coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We care about Israel &#8211; and we know you do too. So we have an ask for this new year of 2026: express your values by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-up?utm_campaign=value_our_work&amp;utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article_end\" class=\"crm-post-module__btn\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tI&#8217;m with you and will give\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-up?utm_campaign=value_our_work&amp;utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article_end\" class=\"crm-post-module__btn crm-post-module__btn-mobile\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tI&#8217;m with you and will give\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a class=\"crm_under_btn_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-in?RedirectTo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fhezbollah-official-we-will-not-intervene-in-event-of-limited-us-strikes-on-iran%2F\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tYou appreciate our journalism\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DH-new-headshot-circular.png\" class=\"attachment-square_large size-square_large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"crm-article-popup__counter-wrap\" style=\"display:none\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re really pleased that you\u2019ve read  X Times of Israel articles in the past month.&#13;\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.<\/p>\n<p>Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.<\/p>\n<p>So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you&#8217;ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing\u00a0exclusive content\u00a0available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you,<br \/>David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-up?utm_campaign=dhmatters&amp;utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article_end_counter&amp;utm_content=1964F6\" class=\"crm-post-module__btn\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-up?utm_campaign=dhmatters&amp;utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article_end_counter&amp;utm_content=1964F6\" class=\"crm-post-module__btn crm-post-module__btn-mobile\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a class=\"crm_under_btn_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/crm.timesofisrael.com\/sign-in?RedirectTo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fhezbollah-official-we-will-not-intervene-in-event-of-limited-us-strikes-on-iran%2F\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Hezbollah official said Wednesday that the Lebanese terror group will not intervene militarily in the event of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-310932","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}