Hezbollah has reportedly urged Iran to launch a direct attack against Israel as hostilities intensify, but Iran has so far refused, according to two Israeli officials and one Western diplomat who spoke with Axios. A direct Iranian strike would significantly escalate the already volatile situation in the region and could potentially draw the U.S. into the conflict. Israeli officials disclosed that Iranian authorities told Hezbollah that “the timing isn’t right” for such an attack due to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s presence in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. During a briefing with reporters in New York on Monday, Pezeshkian accused Israel of seeking a broader regional war and emphasized that Iran does not wish to fall into this “trap.” A senior Israeli official said that Israel’s security cabinet has instructed the IDF)to avoid actions that could provide Iran with a pretext to enter the conflict. The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah over the past two weeks has been the most intense since the 2006 Lebanon war.  On Tuesday, the IDF conducted an airstrike in Beirut, which the IDF said killed Ibrahim Qabisi, the head of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile force. Lebanese media reported that five people were killed in the strike. Meanwhile, over one million Israelis, particularly in northern Israel, have endured widespread rocket and drone attacks from Hezbollah, with many of the projectiles intercepted, though several injuries have been reported. Hezbollah has suffered significant losses, including the deaths of several top military commanders and the destruction of a substantial portion of its rocket and missile arsenal, according to Israeli officials. The group’s communications systems have also been compromised, as evidenced in explosive fashion last week. Behind the scenes, Israeli and U.S. intelligence suggests that Hezbollah reached out to Iran in recent days, requesting an Iranian retaliation in response to the Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran two months ago. While Iran had previously vowed to retaliate, it has yet to act. Conversations between Hezbollah and Iran in recent days revealed Iranian hesitation, with no positive response given to Hezbollah’s request for support. The possibility of direct Iranian involvement in the Lebanon conflict was a topic of discussion between U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a phone call on Sunday. According to Israeli officials, Austin reiterated that the U.S. is prepared to protect its forces and deter any attempts to exploit the situation or expand the conflict. In an interview with CNN, Pezeshkian expressed support for Hezbollah but stressed that Iran does not want Lebanon to turn into another Gaza. “Hezbollah cannot stand alone against a country that is being defended and supplied by Western countries, by European countries and the United States,” he said. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)