Financial Times:

Andrew England and Bita Ghaffari in Tehran

An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has warned that if Israel launches an all-out offensive against Hizbollah, it would risk triggering a regional war in which Tehran and the “axis of resistance” would support the Lebanese militant movement with “all means”.

Kamal Kharrazi, foreign affairs adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the Financial Times that the Islamic republic was “not interested” in a regional war and urged the US to put pressure on Israel to prevent further escalation.

But asked if Iran would support Hizbollah — its most important and powerful proxy — militarily in the event of a full-blown conflict, Kharrazi said: “All Lebanese people, Arab countries and members of the axis of resistance will support Lebanon against Israel.”

“There would be a chance of expansion of the war to the whole region, in which all countries including Iran would become engaged,” he said in an interview. “In that situation, we would have no choice, but to support Hizbollah by all means.”

He added: “The expansion of war is not in the interest of anyone — not Iran or the US.”

Tensions between Iran, the US and Israel have soared since Hamas’s October 7 attack and Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza, with Iranian-backed militant groups launching attacks against the Jewish state and US soldiers in the region.

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