Iran’s Lebanese Proxy Protests US General’s Visit as Explosions Pile Up in Tehran

Residents of Tehran were likely not surprised when they were awoken late Saturday night by a loud explosion, the latest in a seemingly unending series of mysterious blasts and accidents that have erupted around Iran over the past three weeks. According to local reports, the explosion occurred inside a residential building in the capital, causing severe damage and injuring at least one person. Intelligence experts attribute the recent spate of explosions in nuclear and military facilities in Iran to both Israel and the US. Over the weekend, leaders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps’ close proxy Hizbullah spearheaded protests against US interference and “colonialism” during US General Kenneth McKenzie’s visit to Beirut. McKenzie, commander of United States Central Command, met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Lebanon’s “security, stability and sovereignty” before holding a memorial service for the 241 US military personnel killed in Beirut in a 1983 bombing attributed to Hizbullah. Hizbullah activists protested the ceremony. The political and military organization, designated a terrorist group by the US government, last week attacked US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea for allegedly intervening in official government appointments, a claim the ambassador forcefully rejected.