More than 150 Iranian nationals including diplomats and their families left Lebanon on Saturday, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters, after the Israeli military threatened Iran's representatives in Lebanon and conducted strikes near the embassy. Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati earlier this week denied that any Iranian military forces were in the country. On Friday, Israeli air strikes hit an area near Iran's embassy in Lebanon, two security sources told Reuters. The Iranian embassy source told Reuters that the strikes had driven the decision for Iranian diplomats to leave. Reuters could not determine whether the diplomats who had left so far were ousted or left for security reasons.

Source: The Telegraph March 08, 2026 00:06 UTC