Madrid
\nSpain\u2019s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel \u200bAlbares on Thursday accused Israel of violating \u200cinternational law and a newly brokered two-week ceasefire in the Middle East by carrying out airstrikes \u200bon Lebanon on Wednesday.
\nSpain has \u200bemerged as one of the most vocal critics among Western nations of US \u200band Israeli actions in Iran and Lebanon, \u200bclosing its airspace to any aircraft involved in a conflict Madrid has called reckless and illegal.
\n\u201cYesterday we \u200bsaw how Israel, flouting the ceasefire \u200band in violation of international law, dropped hundreds of \u200cbombs on Lebanon,\u201d Albares told lawmakers in the lower house. Earlier on Thursday, Albares announced that Spain would reopen its embassy in Tehran \u200bin hopes \u200bof achieving peace in the region.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve instructed our ambassador in Tehran to return, \u200bto take up his post again \u200band reopen our embassy, and for us to join in this effort for peace from every \u200bpossible quarter, including from \u200bthe Iranian capital itself,\u201d Albares told reporters.
\nFrench Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper have also condemned Israel\u2019s violations post-ceasefire and voiced support for Lebanon.
\n\u201cWe want to see Lebanon included in the ceasefire,\u201d Cooper told Times Radio. \u201cWe want it extended to cover Lebanon, because otherwise that will destabilise the whole region.\u201d
\n\u201cThat escalation that we saw from Israel yesterday was deeply damaging, and we want to see an end to hostilities.\u201d
\nAt least 182 people were killed and nearly 900 wounded on Wednesday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
\nIsrael said its battle against Hezbollah was not part of the US-Iran truce agreed late Tuesday, an argument echoed by US Vice President JD Vance, days before he is due to lead talks with Tehran in Pakistan.
\n\u201cIf Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart… over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that\u2019s ultimately their choice,\u201d he said.
\nBut Iran\u2019s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appeared to threaten the ceasefire, posting on X that the \u201cworkable basis on which to negotiate\u201d had already been violated, making further talks \u201cunreasonable\u201d.
\nMore than 1,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion last month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Madrid Spain\u2019s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel \u200bAlbares on Thursday accused Israel of violating \u200cinternational law and a newly brokered two-week ceasefire in the Middle East by carrying out airstrikes \u200bon Lebanon on Wednesday. Spain has \u200bemerged as one of the most vocal critics among Western nations of US \u200band Israeli actions in Iran and Lebanon, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541041,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-541008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n