BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that Israel’s alleged strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus this week marked a “turning point” and said that an Iranian response was “definitely coming.”
The Damascus strike on Monday killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members, among them a senior Quds Force commander, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Iran has vowed revenge.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has said it supports Iran’s right to “punish” Israel, and in televised remarks on Friday, Nasrallah said the response was coming.
“Be certain, be sure, that the Iranian response to the targeting of the consulate in Damascus is definitely coming against Israel,” he said.
Nasrallah warned Friday his group had not yet used its main weapons in nearly six months of cross-border exchanges with Israel since the Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel, killing some 1139 people, most of them civilians, and taking 253 hostages.
Speaking to Israeli forces at an air base on Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel was attacking enemies wherever it decided to do so.
“It could be in Damascus and it could be in Beirut,” he said. “The enemy is badly hit in all places and is therefore looking for ways to respond. We are ready with a multi-layered defense.”
Until now, Iran has avoided directly entering the fray it used its proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria to launch attacks against Israel and US
Diplomats and analysts say Iran’s clerical elite does not want an all-out war with Israel or the US that might endanger its grip on power, and would prefer to keep using its proxies to carry out selective tactical attacks on its foes.
On Friday, an Israeli strike on the town of Marjayoun killed three Amal fighters, according to security and medical sources. Amal , like Hezbollah is backed by Iran
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