The 2013 Iranian embassy bombing in Beirut was a double

suicide bombing A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

in front of the Iranian embassy in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon on 19 November 2013. The two bombings resulted in 23 deaths and injured at least 160 others.

Background

The bombings were seen as part of the

spillover Spillover may refer to: * Adsorption spillover, a chemical phenomenon involving the movement of atoms adsorbed onto a metal surface * Catalyst support#Spillover * Behavioral spillover, the effect that one behavior has on other behaviors with a s ...

of the Syrian civil war, in which

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

have supported the Syrian government, while the

Abdullah Azzam Brigades The Abdullah Azzam Brigades (), or al-Qaeda in Lebanon, was a Sunni Islamist militant group, and al-Qaeda's branch in Lebanon. The group, which began operating in 2009, was founded by Saudi Saleh Al-Qaraawi and has networks in various countr ...

have fought against the Syrian government. On the same day as the bombing, Syrian government forces seized the town of Qarah from rebel fighters in an opening action in the

Battle of Qalamoun Qalamoun offensive may refer to: * Battle of Qalamoun (2013–2014) * Qalamoun offensive (2014) * Qalamoun offensive (May–June 2015) * Qalamoun offensive (2017) {{disambig ...

. The Syrian government effort at the time, with the strong support of Hezbollah fighters, to eliminate the rebel stronghold in Qalamoun, a region along the Lebanese border with strong ties to the Lebanese Sunni town of

Arsal Arsal (also spelled Aarsal, Ersal or 'Irsal; ), is a town and municipality situated east of Labweh, northeast of Beirut, in Baalbek District of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, Lebanon.

, was expected by some analysts to raise tensions within Lebanon.

Bombings

The area immediately outside the embassy gates was hit by two consecutive blasts. The first was reported to be carried out by a bomber either on a motorcycle or on foot. After people had rushed to the scene, a 4x4 vehicle two buildings away from the embassy blew up in a second, deadlier explosion. The two blasts occurred within 2 minutes of each other. Six buildings were reported to have been damaged. The bombs destroyed some building fronts and severely damaged the embassy gates, but caused only fairly minor damage to the embassy building.

Victims

According to Lebanon's

Health Ministry A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entity, Subnational entities, such as State (administrative division), states, county, counties an ...

at least 23 people were killed and 147 wounded. Iranian cultural attaché Ebrahim Ansari was among the dead, with five Iranian security personnel wounded. Ansari and the Iranian ambassador

Ghazanfar Roknabadi Ghazanfar Mohammad Asl Roknabadi (21 March 1966 – 24 September 2015) was an Iranian diplomat, who served as the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon from 2010 to 2014. Rokanabadi is known to have had strong ties to Lebanon's Hezbollah. He survived man ...

were scheduled to leave the embassy to attend a meeting at the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

at around the time when the bombs went off. The embassy's head of security, a Lebanese national, was also killed in the blast.

Claims of responsibility

The

, a

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Islamist militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group declared that its attacks against Iran would continue until Iran "withdraws its forces from Syria". The group has made false claims in the past. On 31 December, sources confirmed that Lebanese authorities have captured Majid bin Mohammad al-Majid, the Saudi leader of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades. Leader of Hezbollah

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah (, ; 31 August 196027 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. Bor ...

said in December television interview that the attack was "linked to the Saudi intelligence services" because of "Saudi Arabia's rage against Iran over (Saudi Arabia's) failure" in Syria.

Reactions

;Domestic Hezbollah held a public funeral and rally in Beirut the day after the attack. Hezbollah deputy leader

Naim Qassem Naim Mohammad Qassem (born February 1953) is a Lebanese Shia cleric and politician who became Hezbollah’s secretary-general on 29 October 2024, the fourth person to hold the position. He participated in the founding of Hezbollah in 1982, and ...

vowed to continue support for the Syrian government in saying the attacks in Lebanon were "inevitable pains on the road to victory", while mourners chanted "

Death to America "Death to America" is an anti-American political slogan widely used in Iran,Arash KaramiKhomeini Orders Media to End 'Death to America' Chant, Iran Pulse, October 13, 2013 Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Pakistan. Ruhollah Khomeini, the f ...

, Israel, and the

takfiri ''Takfiri'' is an Arabic and Islamic term denoting a Muslim who excommunicates one of their coreligionists—i.e., who accuses another Muslim of being an apostate, or , 'one who turns back'. According to the traditional interpretations of Isla ...

s!" ;Regional Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman

Marzieh Afkham Marzieh Afkham () is an Iranian diplomat who serves as Iran ambassador to Slovenia since 2025. She also served as the ambassador to Malaysia for four years. She is former spokeswoman and head of the Center for Public and Media Diplomacy in Iran ...

blamed Israel for the attack, calling it "an inhuman crime and spiteful act done by Zionists and their mercenaries".

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

denied any involvement. Saudi Arabia called on all its citizens to leave the country. ;Other states and entities The attacks were condemned by the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

, China,Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei's Regular Press Conference on 20 November 2013
Foreign Ministry of China 20 November 2013 France, Syria, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Tom Fletcher Thomas Michael Fletcher (born 17 July 1985) is an English musician, composer, author and vlogger. He is one of the lead vocalists and rhythm guitarist of British pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder. In his 20-year ca ...

, the British ambassador to Beirut, personally donated blood and expressed solidarity with those affected.

References

External links

Iranian embassy in Lebanon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iranian embassy bombing 2013 murders in Lebanon Attacks on diplomatic missions of Iran Attacks on diplomatic missions in Lebanon Terrorist incidents in Lebanon during the Syrian civil war Suicide car and truck bombings in Lebanon Iran–Lebanon relations Mass murder in 2013 Suicide bombings in Beirut Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 2013 21st-century mass murder in Lebanon 2010s crimes in Beirut Building bombings in Beirut November 2013 in Lebanon Car and truck bombings in 2013 Mass murder in Beirut 2013 in international relations 2013 building bombings Suicide bombings in 2013 November 2013 crimes in Asia Beirut in the Israeli–Lebanese conflict