- The Lebanese government worked to maintain its friendly relations with Cyprus, while Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, threatened to attack Cyprus if Cyprus allowed Israel to attack Cypriot soil.
- Lebanon and Cyprus have historically had close ties, which prompted criticism from some Lebanese politicians, who warned that Nasrallah’s comments could harm relations with Cyprus and the European Union.
- Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have become increasingly intense, especially since Israel’s recent killing of a high-level Hezbollah commander.
Lebanese government officials on Thursday worked to maintain friendly ties with Cyprus, a day after militant group Hezbollah threatened to attack the Mediterranean island if Cyprus allows Israel to use its territory to attack Lebanon.
Lebanon’s state news agency said Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib told his Cypriot counterpart that Beirut counted on the positive role played by Cyprus in supporting stability in the Middle East.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah issued a rare threat to Cyprus, asking it not to allow Israeli forces to use its air bases to bomb Lebanon if a full-blown war breaks out between Israel and Cyprus. Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Some Lebanese media outlets reported on Thursday that the Cyprus embassy was closed, but the mission later clarified that they were not accepting visa applications for administrative updates and that the embassy would introduce an appointment-based system for visa applications from Monday.
There has been almost daily exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces along the Lebanon-Israel border, which has left more than 400 people dead in Lebanon since October 8. Most of the deaths have been of combatants, but more than 80 have also been civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 16 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed in the past eight months.
Threats between Israel and Hezbollah have escalated since Israel killed its most senior commander last week. Hezbollah retaliated with gunfire. Hundreds of rockets fired at northern Israel In protest.
Hezbollah supporters watch on a screen a speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a ceremony commemorating the death of senior Hezbollah commander Taleb Sami Abdullah, who was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon last week. The ceremony was held in Dahiyah, Lebanon, a suburb of southern Beirut, on June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Cyprus and Lebanon have had close and historic ties for decades, and the island became a refuge for thousands of Lebanese living on the island during Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war. Many Lebanese citizens moved back to Cyprus following Lebanon’s historic economic downturn that began in late 2019.
Cyprus’ relations with Israel have grown closer in recent years and the island has hosted joint Israeli-Cypriot military exercises, but has not been involved in any military operations.
Nasrallah said his group had information that Israeli forces were carrying out maneuvers in the mountainous regions of Cyprus similar to those in Lebanon, adding that they were also using Cyprus’ air bases.
He said Hezbollah has information that Israel believes Hezbollah would target its air bases if a full-blown war broke out, and for that reason Israel could use them “in its war against Lebanon and Cyprus air bases and bases.”
Nasrallah said that when Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides recently visited Lebanon, Lebanese officials had spoken to him about the matter, but he denied any such plans.
“The Cyprus government should be aware that opening airports and bases in Cyprus for the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon means that the Cyprus government has become part of the war,” Nasrallah said. “The resistance (Hezbollah) will deal with it (Cyprus) as part of the war.”
Cyprus government spokesman Konstantinos Latimbiotis reiterated that any suggestion that Cyprus, whether through its infrastructure or territory, would be involved in any kind of attack is unacceptable. Military operation in Lebanon “Completely baseless.”
Some Lebanese politicians criticised Nasrallah and warned that his comments could harm relations with Cyprus and the European Union.
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“Cyprus was a refuge and welcomed all Lebanese people, but Nasrallah is insisting that we have no friends left,” Elias Hankash, a lawmaker from the Christian Kataeb party, told Al-Arabiya TV. “The threat to Europe leaves Lebanon completely isolated.”
Peter Stano, a spokesman for the EU’s executive branch, said on Thursday that any threat against Cyprus is also a threat against the union’s 26 other member states.
Last year, Cyprus said it had foiled an Iranian plot to target Israeli businessmen by arresting two Iranian asylum seekers who were in contact with another Iranian linked to the Revolutionary Guard.
