Two Killed in Car Explosion Near Iranian Cultural Center in Syria

A war monitoring group reported that two Iranian-backed militants were killed in a car explosion near the Islamic Republic's cultural center in Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, following the explosion of an SUV on Saturday, June 9, near the Iranian cultural center in Deir ez-Zor city, government forces and Iranian-backed groups surrounded the area. Iranian and Syrian media reported that the explosion occurred in the al-Qusour area, which is close to the al-Fath neighborhood, where the so-called 'Islamic Republic of Iran Cultural Center' operates near a mosque. Control of the eastern Euphrates region in the oil-rich Deir ez-Zor province is held by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, while Syrian government forces and Iranian proxy groups dominate the western part of the province. It is estimated that thousands of Iranian proxy forces aligned with the Syrian government are present in Deir ez-Zor, near Iraq. The Islamic Republic of Iran established its cultural center in Deir ez-Zor six years ago. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the explosion near this building. For years, Israel has targeted Iranian-related sites in various locations in Syria to prevent the establishment and consolidation of Iranian forces and other Tehran-backed fighters, but it does not take responsibility for most of these attacks. The latest incident attributed to Israel last week resulted in the deaths of 16 militants in Aleppo, Syria, including Saeed Abiyar, a senior Quds Force officer, for whom the Islamic Republic has promised revenge. Lebanese state media reported that Israeli attacks on Saturday, June 9, caused a fire in the forests of southern Lebanon, and in other incidents, two civilians and two Hezbollah members were also killed that day. According to the National News Agency of Lebanon, Israeli artillery fire targeting the outskirts of the city of Al-Ma'shar resulted in a fire in the forests, with flames spreading close to some homes. UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force stationed in Lebanon, reported that its forces were unharmed, although the fire occurred near one of their posts in 'Mays Jabal' in the Al-Manara district near the 'Blue Line.' Since last week, Hezbollah's movements from Lebanon against Israel in support of the extremist group Hamas in Gaza have intensified, leading to forest fires across large areas of northern Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that 'the land on the other side of the border is also burning,' and announced the readiness of Israeli military forces to take 'decisive action' against Hezbollah. According to the National News Agency of Lebanon, an Israeli drone fired two missiles at a 'cafe' on Saturday, killing the owner of the establishment and another man. Will tensions between Israel and Hezbollah lead to a widespread war? The Israeli army announced that it had bombed Hezbollah-affiliated targets in the Aytroun area and also 'terrorist infrastructure' in the Khiyam area and its surroundings. Hezbollah, for its part, reported firing Katyusha rockets towards the 'Misgav Am' settlement in northern Israel. The group also claimed to have begun using new missiles named 'Falak 2' against Israel and simultaneously confirmed the deaths of two more of its members in clashes with Israel. Hezbollah has entered a military campaign against Israel in support of Hamas, which is another group backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, since the surprise attack by Hamas on Israeli territory that led to the Israeli army's war in Gaza. The border clashes over the past eight months have resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese on both sides of the border. On the Lebanese side, at least 90 civilians have been killed, and about 340 Hezbollah members have died. On the Israeli side, 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have lost their lives in rocket attacks and explosive drones from Hezbollah. Hezbollah has conditioned the end of operations against Israel on the end of the Gaza war.