Iran says will not send forces to confront Israel

TEHRAN - Iran will not deploy forces to Lebanon or Gaza to confront Israel, its foreign ministry said on Monday, as Israeli strikes target its allies in the region.

"There is no need to send extra or volunteer forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani, adding that Lebanon and fighters in the Palestinian territories "have the capability and strength to defend themselves against the aggression".

Israel has in recent days been mounting heavy air strikes in Lebanon against the so-called "axis of resistance", a network of Iran-aligned militant groups in the region, including in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

An Israeli strike on Beirut Friday killed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese group Hezbollah that has been armed and financed by the Islamic republic for years.

"We have not received any request in this regard from any side, on the contrary, we are informed and are sure that they do not need the help of our forces," Kanani told reporters in Tehran.

Kanani nonetheless vowed that Israel "will not remain without reprimand and punishment for the crimes it has committed against the Iranian people, military personnel and the resistance forces".

Also on Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Hezbollah's office in Tehran "to pay tribute" to Nasrallah, according to the government's website.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of the state, has vowed that Nasrallah's death "will not be in vain", and First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said it would bring about Israel's "destruction".

Iran has also vowed to avenge the killing of Abbas Nilforoushan, a top commander of the Quds Force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' foreign operations arm, who died alongside the Hezbollah leader. - AFP