Iran slams Israel strikes in Lebanon, Gaza Strip: state media

Iran's foreign ministry on Friday condemned Israel's strikes in Lebanon and besieged Gaza and called for action by international bodies, state media reported.

The strikes followed rocket attacks, which in turn came after Israel on Wednesday brutally raided occupied East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam, as Muslims observed Ramadan.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the ministry "strongly condemned the attacks… as a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity and a gross violation of international law and human rights of the oppressed Palestinian nation, and called for an effective response by… world bodies", state media said.

Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, said in a tweet on Friday that the resistance is "vigilant" after Thursday's exchange of fire over the disputed Lebanon-Israel border.

Israel blamed the rockets launched from Lebanon on Palestinian groups.

Russia called for the Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese to end the "escalation" of violence, saying it was "deeply" concerned.

"We call on the parties involved in the conflict to refrain from confrontational steps, to act in the interests of preventing further escalation, ending violence and restoring a sustainable ceasefire," Moscow's foreign ministry said.

(Reuters, AFP)