Iranians including diplomats evacuated from Beirut on Russian plane: Lebanese official

Beirut: More than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official told AFP on Sunday.

The evacuation came after Lebanon on Thursday banned any activity by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps -- a main backer of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah -- and imposed a visa requirement on Iranians entering the country as part of measures to pressure the group.

"A total of 117 Iranians, including diplomats and embassy staff, were evacuated on a Russian plane that left Beirut overnight from Saturday to Sunday," the official said on condition of anonymity.


The official said the Iranian embassy had informed Lebanese authorities beforehand of the evacuation operation, which was carried out via Beirut's international airport.

The official did not specify the destination of the Russian flight.

The airport -- located near the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold that has been pounded by Israeli air strikes since Monday -- is operational despite the bombardment, but only Lebanon's national carrier Middle East Airlines is operating significant numbers of flights.

The body of an Iranian diplomat killed this week, along with those of his wife and three children, were repatriated on the flight, the official added.

Hezbollah, which on Monday drew Lebanon into the war between Iran, Israel and the United States by launching strikes against Israel, is coordinating with Iranian liaison officers, according to a Lebanese security source.

Overnight Saturday into Sunday, an Israeli strike targeted a seafront hotel in Beirut, hitting the heart of the Lebanese capital for the first time since the start of the war.

The Israeli army said it had "carried out a precise strike against key commanders of the Lebanon Corps of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps".

Four people were killed and 10 wounded, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army announced it had killed with a strike in Tehran a senior commander for Lebanon from the Quds force, which is in charge of the Guards' external operations.