Hezbollah assures Iran it will not drag regime into larger war with Israel

The Hezbollah terror forces in Lebanon told the Iranian regime, which supports them, that it would not drag Iran into a larger war with Israel if current tensions continue to escalate, according to a Reuters report on Friday.

The report was based on seven sources who said that the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, visited Lebanon’s capital Beirut in February.

In a meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the two reportedly discussed the possible dangers in the case of Israel escalating the current fire exchanges into an all-out war, which would risk dragging Iran into the conflict and could ultimately lead to other parts of the Middle East joining the conflict.

In such a scenario, Iran would feel pressured to join on the side of its main proxy force in the region, three of the senior Iranian sources told Reuters.

However, Nasrallah assured Qaani that his group could fight Israel alone and was not looking for massive Iranian support.

“This is our fight,” Nasrallah told Qaani, according to an Iranian source with knowledge of the discussions.

The visit between Nasrallah and Qaani was at least the third meeting since Hamas began the war on Oct. 7, when it invaded Israel, according to Reuters.

Despite initial fears by Israel, Hezbollah did not join Hamas in its attack against Israel on Oct. 7, instead beginning a near-daily campaign targeting northern Israel with rockets, anti-tank missiles and drones.

On Thursday, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for six such attacks against Israel, in addition to two other events it didn’t take responsibility for. According to the Alma Research Center, rockets were fired toward the Hula Valley and a drone infiltrated the area over Kfar Blum before being shot down,

The IDF confirmed three Hezbollah attacks on targets near Malkia and said it responded with artillery shelling of the launch areas. In addition, IDF artillery fired at the area around Wadi Hamoul to remove an imminent threat.

Later in the day, IDF fighter jets attacked Hezbollah military buildings near Naqura region and terror infrastructure near the village of Yaroun in southern Lebanon.

The last few days saw a noticeable drop in the intensity of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah forces. This shift follows a period earlier in the week that represented a peak in tensions since the skirmishes began last October.