Israel is unlikely to launch another strike on Iran but any new attack would be met with a strong response, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said.
“We are prepared for all contingencies but I do not think the Israelis will act recklessly; if they attack Iran, we will respond firmly,” Larijani said in Beirut on Saturday during memorial events for Hassan Nasrallah.
The comments coincided with heightened regional tensions following the UN Security Council’s snapback decision.


Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, traveled to Beirut on Saturday to attend memorial ceremonies for the slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, announcing his support for Lebanon’s role as a frontline of resistance against Israel.
“We are hopeful for the future of the region. Awareness and vigilance in the region are on the rise,” said Larijani.
“The Israeli regime spares no country as seen in the recent incident in Qatar,” he said.
“Many countries are seeking to establish a joint mechanism for cooperation, and we support this path,” Iranian media quoted him as saying.
Larijani will meet senior Lebanese officials to discuss bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual concern, the Iranian embassy in Beirut said.
He is joined by Ebrahim Azizi, head of parliament’s National Security Committee, and Rouhollah Motefaker Azad, a deputy speaker, during his trip to Lebanon.
In his previous Beirut visit in August, Lebanese political figures publicly criticized Tehran’s influence and interference, warning that Iran’s pressure on Hezbollah’s armament threatened Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Though Hezbollah was once seen as Iran’s dominant proxy in Lebanon, it has endured heavy losses. Israeli strikes last year killed thousands of its fighters and senior leaders, with much of its military infrastructure destroyed.
Lebanese officials have said a sovereign, unified Lebanon requires the elimination of foreign influence, adding that Hezbollah’s control over armed power remains a major obstacle.
Founded in 1982 by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hezbollah has long been Israel’s principal military adversary in Lebanon. Fighting late last year left the group weakened.
The Lebanese cabinet last month ordered the army to disarm Hezbollah, prompting sharp criticism from Tehran.
Iran is ready to withstand renewed United Nations sanctions and will continue to defend its rights, government media chief Elias Hazrati said in response to questions about public concern.
“Right now we are at the peak of US sanctions and our country is prepared and will strongly resist in defending its rightful rights,” Hazrati said on Saturday.
“We will use every opening to defend the rights of the Iranian nation.”
A US proposal requiring Iran to surrender all enriched uranium in exchange for a three-month reprieve was not acceptable, said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to Iranian media.
“They want us to hand over all our enriched uranium and in return they give us three months, which is by no means acceptable,” Iranian outlets reported, quoting Pezeshkian before his departure from New York to Tehran.
“If we are to choose between the unreasonable demands of the Americans and the snapback, our choice is the snapback,” Pezeshkian added.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps will continue backing resistance groups across the region, said the IRGC in statement.
The statement was issued Saturday on the anniversary of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s death, coinciding with the UN Security Council’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran.
“The Corps considers support for resistance in the geography of the region to remain on its agenda and regards the continuation of this path until the complete elimination of occupation and the liberation of Jerusalem as a divine, national and unstoppable mission,” the IRGC said in the statement.
“The disturbed dreams and wicked plans of Israel and the United States to weaken or destroy the resistance have repeatedly failed, and this time will yield nothing for the enemies but disgrace and humiliation,” it added.

Remaining in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty no longer has justification under current conditions, Iran's parliamentary economic committee member Jafar Qaderi said in response to the UN Security Council’s decision to restore sanctions.
“The reality is that if we see that international frameworks and institutions practically do not support us or do not recognize our rights, continuing membership in those treaties no longer has the same meaning,” Qaderi said in an interview with Daneshjoo News Agency on Saturday.
He cautioned, however, that leaving the treaty would be a “very sensitive and complex” matter. “This decision should not be made emotionally or hastily. Withdrawal from the treaty has numerous political, economic and security consequences that must be examined at the macro level of the country; but at the same time, this option should not be ruled out in advance,” Qaderi said.





