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Mahmoud Qamati, deputy head of the Lebanese Hezbollah’s political council, speaking to Rudaw on March 12, 2026. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior official from Hezbollah said that Iran did not ask the group to join its war with Israel and the United States, despite Hezbollah’s ongoing attacks since the outbreak of the regional war.
Mahmoud Qamati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, told Rudaw on Thursday that Tehran “did not ask us or any other resistance in the region for support,” insisting the Lebanese group has acted independently.
“Iran is defending itself,” Qamati said, adding that Hezbollah “holds the initiative” on the northern front with Israel.
He claimed the group has carried out extensive attacks against Israeli targets. “We attacked hundreds of targets in the northern settlements, in Haifa and Tel Aviv, and hit them precisely, and this was acknowledged by the enemy,” he said.
The war between Iran and the US-Israel alliance has spilled across the Middle East, drawing several Iran-aligned groups into the confrontation. Hezbollah, widely seen as Tehran’s most powerful regional ally, has launched rockets, drones, and missiles toward northern Israel since early March, opening what analysts describe as a second front in the conflict.
Hezbollah has framed its attacks as part of the broader “resistance” axis supporting Iran against Israeli and US strikes, while Israel has responded with an extensive air campaign targeting Hezbollah positions across Lebanon.
The fighting has intensified in recent days. Israel’s military said it began a new wave of strikes in Beirut on Thursday, less than two hours after warning residents of a large area of the capital’s southern suburbs to evacuate north.
The latest escalation has triggered a major humanitarian crisis. More than 800,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced over the past 10 days amid the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, which form part of the wider regional war involving Iran.
Israel has issued sweeping evacuation orders across southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut while carrying out heavy airstrikes, saying the operations target Hezbollah infrastructure and rocket launch sites.
Qamati praised Iran’s resilience against what he described as “American and Israeli aggression,” saying Tehran had struck US bases in the region and targeted Israel across “the geography of occupied Palestine.”
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has stayed defiant in his first message and called on his security forces to continue to block the Strait of Hormuz, depriving the world of vital oil exports which has resulted in high prices of oil.
He thanked the so-called "Resistance Front” - Iran’s proxies in the region - for their support to Tehran, including Hezbollah.
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