Iran backs Lebanon in ceasefire talks, seeks end to 'problems'

Iran will back any decision taken by Lebanon in talks to secure a ceasefire with Israel, a senior Iranian official said on Friday, signaling Tehran wants to see an end to a conflict that has dealt heavy blows to its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, spoke during a visit to Beirut as Israel kept up its intensified bombardment of Hezbollah-controlled areas of the Lebanese capital.

Israel has this week stepped up airstrikes against the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs an escalation that has coincided withindications of movementin U.S.-led diplomatic contacts toward ending the conflict.

The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal on Thursday to Lebanon's parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, who is endorsed by Hezbollah to negotiate, two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters.

The draft was Washington's first written proposal to halt fighting between its ally Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in at least several weeks, the sources said. The sources did not provide details about the contents of the proposal.

WATCH |Israeli strike hits civil defence centre in east Lebanon:

Israeli airstrike on civil defence centre kills at least 12 in Lebanon, officials say

3 days ago

Duration 0:43

An Israeli airstrike on Thursday killed at least 12 people, including eight rescuers, and wounded 27 others after it hit a civil defence centre in Baalbek, northeast of Beirut, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Berri, Larijani said Berri had provided him with "good clarifications."

"We are not looking to sabotage anything," Larijani said, responding to a reporter who asked whether he had come to Beirut to wreck the American draft.

"We are after a solution to the problems. We support in all circumstances the Lebanese government. Those who are disrupting are Netanyahu and his people," Larijani said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

More time needed to reach ceasefire deal

Hezbollah was founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, and has been armed and financed by Tehran.

A senior diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, assessed that more time was needed to get a ceasefire deal done and was hopeful it could be achieved.

The diplomacy marks a last-ditch attempt by the outgoing U.S. administration to secure a Lebanon ceasefire, as efforts to end the war inGazaappear totally adrift.

One major sticking point is Israel's demand to retain freedom to act should Hezbollah violate any agreement a demand Lebanon has rejected.

Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah after almost a year of cross-border hostilities ignited by theGazawar, declaring it wanted to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate from northern Israel.

Israel's campaign has forced more than one million people to flee their homes in Lebanon, igniting a humanitarian crisis.

It has dealt Hezbollah serious blows, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders, using airstrikes to pound areas of Lebanon where Hezbollah has political and military sway, and sending troops into the south.

Hezbollah has kept up rocket attacks into Israel and its fighters have been battling Israeli troops in the south.

Airstrike flattens building in Beirut Friday

On Friday, anIsraeli airstrike flattened a building near one of Beirut's busiest traffic junctions,Tayouneh,shaking the Lebanese capital.The targeted building was located in an area where the southern suburbs meet other parts of the city, a more central target than most that Israel has hit.

Ahead of the latest airstrikes, the Israeli military issued a warning on social media identifying buildings in the southern suburbs and telling residents to evacuate, saying they were near Hezbollah facilities.

The sound of an incoming missile could be heard in footage showing the airstrike near Tayouneh. The targeted building turned into a cloud of rubble and debris that billowed into the adjacent Horsh Beirut, the city's main park.

On Thursday, Eli Cohen, Israel's energy minister and a member of its security cabinet, told Reuters that prospects for a ceasefire were the most promising since the conflict began.

WATCH | What a Trump presidency might mean for the Middle East:

Trump's presidency could change trajectory of Middle East conflict

12 days ago

Duration 2:15

Many Palestinians fear Donald Trumps election win makes an Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal even more unlikely. Trump, who took an aggressively pro-Israel stance during his first term, has already said Israel should be allowed to go and just finish the job.

The Washington Post reported that Netanyahu was rushing to advance a Lebanon ceasefire with the aim of delivering an early foreign policy win toU.S. president-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to be strongly pro-Israel.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairsin Lebanon said on Friday that there is an alarming escalation in human toll of Israeli airstrikes in the densely populated areas across Lebanon.

According to Lebanon's Health Ministry, Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,445 people andwounded 14,599 others since Oct. 7, 2023, the vast majority of them since late September. It does not distinguish between civilian casualties and fighters.

Hezbollah attacks have killed about 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and southern Lebanon over the last year, according to Israel.