ALBAWABA - Iran has threatened to react to the Israeli bombing on Beirut's southern neighborhood that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Quds Force Deputy Commander Abbas Niloufarushan.
In a Sunday statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that this strike "will not go unanswered" and might lead to a regional conflict.
Araghchi blamed the US for the murder and said Iran will pursue the killers via diplomatic, judicial, and international means. "This heinous crime committed by the Zionist regime will be met with a response, and Iran’s diplomatic apparatus will mobilize its full capacity to track down the criminals and their backers," it said.
Iranian leaders are outraged over Nasrallah's assassination. President Masoud Pezeshkian told CNN that Iran would intervene if the international community fails to constrain Israel. "If Israel continues to act with impunity, Iran will respond appropriately," he said.
Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would retaliate "at a time of its choosing," with top-level choices.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called Nasrallah a "martyr," and proclaimed a five-day national mourning.
The Guardian Council Secretary, Ahmad Jannati, warned that Israel "will face a strong retaliation," vowing to "erase the Zionist entity" after the deaths.
The killings of Niloufarushan and Nasrallah sparked protests in Iranian towns on Saturday.
In Friday's Israeli bombing on Hezbollah's Beirut base, Quds Force leader Abbas Niloufarushan, 58, and Nasrallah were murdered.
