Lebanese soldiers and emergency personnel gather at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted an apartment in Hazmieh, on the eastern outskirts of Beirut, on March 23, 2026. (Credit: Fadel Itani/AFP)
BEIRUT — A day after a strike hit a residential building in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Israeli army Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Tuesday that the navy, acting on Shin Bet intelligence, had killed Mohammad Ali Qourani, a member of the Revolutionary Guards, in Lebanon.
Press reports had already indicated Monday that Qourani, initially targeted in a strike carried out during the night of March 3 to 4 on the Comfort Hotel in the residential district of Brasilia near Hazmieh, had again been targeted — this time in an attack against an apartment in Hazmieh.
According to Avichay Adraee, Kourani “was preparing terrorist projects under the direction of Iranian intelligence services.”
The Foreign Affairs Ministry, summoned Iranian chargé d'affaires Toufic Samadi Khoshkhou on Tuesday to notify him that Lebanon had withdrawn the accreditation of Iran's ambassador, Mohammad Reza Chibani.
Declared persona non grata, the diplomat must leave Lebanese territory no later than next Sunday, March 29, 2026, according to information confirmed by the Bustros Palace to L’Orient-Le Jour.
At the beginning of March, the Lebanese government had already banned any activities of the Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon and considered Hezbollah's military activities illegal.
Despite these decisions, Hezbollah and Iran jointly signed Operation "Eaten Straw."
This led Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to say Sunday night that it is members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who are commanding Hezbollah's operations in the ongoing war against Israel. In this context, Foreign Minister Joe Rajji summoned the Iranian chargé d'affaires on instructions from the government.
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