A top Iranian security official called on regional countries on Saturday to put their difference aside and cooperate closely as they face what he called “Israel’s conspiracies.”
Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, spoke in Beirut, where he arrived earlier Saturday to attend the anniversary of Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.
“Today, amid Israel’s conspiracies, regional states should closely cooperate, and even if there were disagreements between them, they should put these disagreements aside,” Larjani said after a nearly one-hour meeting with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Larijani praised the call by Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem for Saudi Arabia to open a new page after years of tense relations, calling it “a step in the right direction.” Referring to Israel, Larijani said Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah both “have a common enemy.”
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Ali Larijani speaks at the shrine in Lebanon where Hassan Nasrallah is buried
(Photo: AP/ Hussein Malla)
Asked about reports that Israel might launch new strikes against Iran, Larijani said, “We are ready to face all scenarios, but I don’t think that the Israelis will behave in this stupid way.”
“If they do that, they will receive strong retaliation,” Larijani said, without elaborating.
Iran has been the main backer of Hezbollah over the past four decades, supplying it with weapons and money that have turned it into one of the most powerful terror groups in the region. But Hezbollah suffered heavy losses in a 14-month war with Israel, which ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November, with many of its political and military commanders killed in Israeli strikes.