The National:

Israel and Iran exchanged threats at the weekend, each warning any escalation in the fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah would be met with a strong response.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Tehran's threats made it worthy of destruction.

“A regime that threatens destruction deserves to be destroyed,” Mr Katz said in a post on X. He added that Israel would act with full force against Hezbollah if it does not stop firing rockets at Israel and retreat from the border areas.

Iran's UN mission said on Friday that if Israel launches a “full-scale military aggression” in Lebanon, an “obliterating war will ensue.” The mission accused Israel of engaging in “psychological warfare” by issuing warnings of attacks on Lebanon.

Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel shortly after Israel launched a war in Gaza on October 7 in response to a Hamas-led attack.

In the months since, Israel and Hezbollah have conducted countless cross-border exchanges of fire, but the intensity of the attacks has increased in recent weeks, as well as the rhetoric between the sides.

“Israel must stop its repeated attacks on Lebanon, and stop the war in Gaza,” Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged on Saturday. “We are always advocates of peace, and our choice is peace.”

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