Iran said it expects the "Hezbollah" group, which is an ally of Tehran, to strike Israel "in depth" and "not be limited only to military objectives", in response to the assassination of the military leader of the Lebanese Islamist movement, Fouad Shukr, which took place on Tuesday, near Beirut, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
Shukr, a Hezbollah military chief, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a building in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Six more people died then, including five civilians. In a speech on Thursday, the party's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, promised to respond to this "aggression", raising fears of a further escalation of tensions.
"We predict that "Hezbollah" it will choose more targets and deliver (strike) in depth," Iran's UN representative said, quoted by the IRNA news agency.
"Hezbollah" and the (Israeli) regime respected certain boundaries that the attack (on Tuesday night) crossed," Tehran's mission said. This included "limiting actions to border areas" and the areas close to them, as well as "hitting primarily military targets".
From now on, the Lebanese Movement will not limit its response to military targets, according to the statement.
Iran and "Hamas"also blamed Israel for Wednesday's assassination of Palestinian Islamist leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and vowed to retaliate.
Today, Sweden announced that it was temporarily closing its embassy in Beirut and advised thousands of its citizens to leave the country amid fears that an escalation of the war in Gaza could involve other countries, reported France Press.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked its employees to leave Beirut and go to Cyprus and plans to temporarily relocate its embassy," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström told local radio.
The decision was made "initially for the month of August, but may be extended depending on the security situation".