Iran’s FM recounts moment of fear as Israeli jets flew low over Beirut funeral

Israeli fighter jets on Sunday buzzed over the funeral ceremony in Beirut of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in what the visiting Iranian foreign minister called a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and an attempt to intimidate mourners.

"I witnessed, with my own eyes, the violation of Lebanon's sovereignty by Israeli jets that flew close above our heads, in a pitiful attempt to terrify people who gathered only to mourn," said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi who was in Beirut to attend Nasrallah's funeral.

"If that is not an act of terror, then what is?" he asked in a post on his X account, in which he also embedded a video of the Israeli jet fighters flying low over the Lebanese capital.

The Israeli defense minister confirmed his country's aircraft flying over the funeral of Nasrallah, saying that the move "conveyed a clear message: Those who threaten to destroy Israel and attack Israel, it will be their end."

“You will specialize in funerals, and we will in victories,” Israel Katz said in a statement.

As the funeral was under way in Beirut, the Israeli military released videos of the moment it assassinated Nasrallah on September 27, 2024, along with several other commanders of the Iran-backed group, in an attack on their underground headquarters in Beirut.

Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by countries such as the US and UK, is currently in a fragile US-French brokered ceasefire with Israel, while both sides allege continued violations.

Although Israel's military has mostly pulled back from southern Lebanon, its air force continues to target what it claims are Hezbollah positions throughout the country, while its troops still maintain control over five hilltop positions along the border.