Monday's intense series of strikes in Lebanon, which followed a string of eliminations of Hezbollah leaders in recent weeks, has led U.S. officials to believe that Israel dealt a significant blow to Hezbollah's command. "They’ve probably been taken 20 years backward," a U.S. official told CNN on Tuesday.
In the past two months, two of Hezbollah's most senior military figures, considered part of the terror group's founding generation, have been eliminated. In a strike in Dahieh at the end of July, Fuad Shukr, dubbed "Hezbollah's Chief of Staff" was eliminated. Last week, Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah’s head of operations, was terminated alongside senior commanders of the group's elite Radwan Force.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
(Photo: Yariv Katz, Rabih DAHER / AFP / Shutterstock / AP / Evan Vucci)
On Monday, the IDF attempted to target Ali Karaki, Hezbollah's commander of the southern front in Lebanon, to no success. Hezbollah issued an official statement saying Karaki was "fine" and had been "moved to a safe location."
According to CNN, the U.S.'s biggest concern now is that Iran might decide to intervene in the conflict to aid Hezbollah. "Tehran has not intervened yet, but they will if they believe they are about to lose their most powerful proxy force," another official told CNN. According to the sources, "We are the closest we’ve been to spiraling to a regional war.”
U.S. officials believe the operation attributed to Israel in Lebanon, involving the detonation of Hezbollah's pagers and walkie-talkies, has shaken the terror organization and hampered its communication abilities, especially following Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's directive for members to avoid using mobile phones.
On Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also warned of the war potentially escalating into a regional conflict, saying that "the danger does exist that the fire of events that are taking place (in Lebanon) will expand to the entire region." Pezeshkian made these remarks in an interview with CNN in New York, where he's set to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly.
He didn't rule out the possibility of Iran aiding Hezbollah and noted that the terror organization is up against a state "armed to the teeth and has access to weapons systems that are far superior to anything else.”
“We must not allow for Lebanon to become another Gaza at the hands of Israel. Hezbollah cannot do that alone. Hezbollah cannot stand alone against a country that is being defended and supported and supplied by Western countries, European countries, and the United States of America,” Pezeshkian added.
He further stressed that a regional war "can be dangerous for the future of the world and planet Earth itself, so we must prevent the ongoing criminal acts being committed by Israel."
"We want to live in peace, we don't want war," Pezeshkian said on Monday. "It is Israel that seeks to create this all-out conflict." He asserted that Iran understands that there are no winners in war. "There is no winner in warfare, everyone loses in war and conflict. We are only deluding ourselves if we think someone will be victorious in a regional war.”
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US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Brendan Smialowski\ AFP, AP)
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported on Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is making last-ditch efforts to reach a hostage and cease-fire deal in Gaza while working to lower the flames on the northern border.
According to the American outlet, Biden's advisors are aware the time before his tenure in office is running out and chances of reaching a deal now seem much lower amid ever-increasing bouts between the IDF and Hezbollah in the north.
According to the New York Times, some of Biden's advisors are having difficulties hiding their disdain for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inaction and added a recent talk between the two ended in a shouting match.