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Lebanese defense minister scolds Iran for presuming Lebanon is theirs to use

In a Tuesday interview with the Persian-language Mizan Online news agency, IRGC General Morteza Qorbani said that if provoked Iran would attack Israel from Lebanon.

By World Israel News Staff

Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab took to Twitter on Tuesday to condemn a statement made by a  commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) who suggested that Iran would use Lebanon as a proxy to destroy Israel.

“These statements are unfortunate and unacceptable. They are a violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon, which enjoys ties of friendship with Iran that should not infringe on its independent decision-making in any way, shape or form,” Bou Saab tweeted.

In a Tuesday interview with the Persian-language Mizan Online news agency, IRGC General Morteza Qorbani said that if provoked Iran would attack Israel from Lebanon.

“If the Zionist regime makes the smallest mistake toward Iran, we will reduce Tel Aviv to ashes from Lebanon,” Qorbani said. “Iran is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons and Israel is too small to make any mistake toward Iran. If the Supreme Leader orders a missile attack against Israel, all Zionists will raise their hands and surrender.”

“The hearts and souls of the people of Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq are with Iran, and the recent events in Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran aim to strike the unity of the resistance front, including the Islamic Republic,” he added.

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In a rare response by the Iranian government on the matter, IRGC Spokesman Ramezan Sharif said “reviews show what General Morteza Qorbani’s remarks have been misinterpreted and misquoted by the media,” reported Iran’s Fars News Agency on Wednesday.

Sharif added, “General Qorbani has, in fact, meant to speak of response to Israel by possible various means and capacities.”

Sharif also said that Bou Saab was right to speak out because it exposed “the Saudi-Zionist media’s mischief over the remarks.”