Iran vows to support Hezbollah "by all means" if war with Israel

In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) magazine on July 2, advisor Kamal Kharrazi emphasized: “All Lebanese people, Arab countries and members of the resistance axis will support Lebanon against Israel… In that situation, we will have no choice but to support Hezbollah in every way.”

Asked if Israel would launch a full-scale war against Hezbollah, which could spark a regional conflict, the Iranian official said Tehran did not want to get involved in a regional conflict and called on the US to put pressure on Israel to prevent the situation from escalating. “An expanded war is not in anyone’s interest, including Iran or the US,” Kharrazi said.

Tensions between Iran, the United States and Israel have escalated since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, offensive and Israel’s ground campaign in Gaza. Hezbollah, claiming to support its Hamas brother, has launched near-daily cross-border rocket and artillery attacks with Israel, while Houthi forces in Yemen have attacked ships in the Red Sea and Shia militants in Syria and Iraq have repeatedly attacked US troops stationed in the region.

Iran and Israel also launched tit-for-tat strikes in April, marking the first direct attack between the two sides from each other’s territory. Both sides have since sought to de-escalate tensions with calibrated strikes that cause limited damage.

However, in recent weeks, fears of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah have increased amid a continued exchange of provocative rhetoric between the two sides.

Iran's mission to the United Nations warned on June 28 of a "war of annihilation" if Israel launches an attack on Hezbollah, saying all options are on the table.

Meanwhile, another Iranian official told the FT that Iran was unlikely to target Israel directly, but instead Tehran was mobilizing its network of pro-Iran groups across the region to create an “axis of resistance.”

All eyes are now on the results of Iran's presidential election following the death of late President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.

The second round of the presidential election is scheduled for July 5 after no candidate won more than 50% of the vote in the first round on June 28.

Voters will choose between reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, who wants to re-engage with the West in exchange for sanctions relief, and hardliner Saeed Jalili, who is hostile to the US.

However, according to adviser Kharrazi, although there will be some differences in approach depending on who wins, the overall foreign policy strategy will still be determined by Supreme Leader Khamenei and will remain the same.

The official pointed out that the election would create a new opportunity between Iran and the West. But to achieve that, Western countries would need to withdraw their current policies and engage in negotiations with Iran on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

Adviser Kharrazi stressed that Iran is ready to hold indirect negotiations with Washington on Tehran's nuclear program under the new government, if the US rejoins the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and the P5+1 group (including the UK, France, Russia, the US, China and Germany) in 2015.