Top Iranian official holds talks in Lebanon on Israel-Hezbollah war as U.S. pushes for cease-fire

BEIRUT (AP) — A top Iranian official held talks Friday with Lebanese leaders on the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah, which came as the United States continued actively pushing both sides to agree to a new cease-fire deal.

The visit of Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, to the Lebanese capital was punctuated with a renewed aerial attack by Israel on the southeastern edge of the city.

An image captured by an Associated Press photographer showed what appeared to be an 11-story residential building in the Tayouneh area, few kilometers (miles) from central Beirut, about to be hit by a bomb, then bursting into flames.

There were no immediate reports of casualties but the bomb hit a lower level of the building, turning much of it to rubble. The Israeli military had issued a warning ahead of the attack, claiming it was a facility that belonged to Hezbollah.

The U.S. has been trying to broker an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which came as the 13-month war with Hamas broadened in September into southern and eastern Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Both Hezbollah and Hamas are backed by Iran, and Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 ignited the war in Gaza.

According to reports in Lebanese media, U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson has handed over a draft of a proposed deal to end the Israel-Hezbollah war to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been leading the talks representing Hezbollah.

A Lebanese official confirmed Friday that Johnson visited Berri but refused to say whether a draft was handed over. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media about the ongoing talks.

The U.S. Embassy refused to either confirm or deny the reports.

Meantime, Larijani flew in Friday from neighboring Syria where he held similar talks a day earlier with President Bashar Assad. Syria’s state news agency said Assad and Larijani discussed the “ongoing aggression on Palestine and Lebanon and the necessity of stopping it.”

In addition to supporting Hamas, Iran is a main backer of Hezbollah and for decades has been funding and arming the Lebanese militant group.

Following his talks with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Larijani met Berri for closed-door discussions.

Iran’s embassy in Beirut posted on X that during Larijani’s talks with Berri, the Iranian official said Tehran stands by Lebanon’s “government, army and resistance,” referring to Hezbollah. It said they discussed efforts being exerted to reach a cease fire but did not elaborate.

On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council’s 10 elected members circulated a draft resolution demanding “an immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire” in Gaza as well.

The draft resolution, which was sent to the council’s five permanent members, reiterates the council’s demand “for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” seized during Hamas’ surprise attacks on southern Israel. Israel says about 100 are still being held, though not all are believed to be alive.

The U.S., Israel’s closest ally, holds the key to whether the Security Council adopts the resolution. The four other permanent members — Russia, China, Britain and France — are expected to support it or abstain.

The draft, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, also demands immediate access for Gaza’s civilian population to humanitarian aid and services essential for their survival.

The draft resolution would also express the council’s “deep alarm over the ongoing catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza including the lack of adequate healthcare services and the state of food insecurity creating a risk of famine notably in the north.”

It would deplore all attacks against civilians and “civilian objects” and all acts of terrorism.

The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. The officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed have been women and children.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,200 people have been killed and more than 14,000 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported.

Lebanon has also suffered some $8.5 billion in physical damage and economic loss, according to a World Bank report Thursday.

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Rising reported from Bangkok. Edith Lederer contributed from the United Nations.