Blasts rock Iranian embassy in Beirut kill 23

The death of the cultural attaché was confirmed by the Iranian ambassador.

Most of the other casualties are civilians, reported Al Arabiya correspondent in Beirut, Adnan Ghalmoush.

At least 146 people have been injured, according to the Lebanese health minister.

Al Arabiya's correspondent reported that there were two minutes between both blasts that rocked the area.

Local Lebanese media broadcast live images of smoke billowing from the embassy building. Harrowing pictures of wounded people being carried from the scene of the blast were also broadcast.

“These innocents were killed in an act of cold blooded terrorism,” former Lebanese Defense Minister Albert Mansour told Al Arabiya News.

“This attack will add fuel to the fire of sectarianism in the country and hostility between Shiite and Sunni Muslims,” Mansour added.

Mansour confirmed that an investigation was underway to identify the perpetrators of the attack.

A security source speaking to Reuters news agency denied earlier reports that the explosions were caused by rockets, saying the cause was a car bomb.

Security forces have been deployed heavily at the site where some six buildings were severely damaged, according to Al Arabiya News Channel.

The blasts occurred in an area considered a stronghold of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, which is a main ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war next door. It is not clear if the blasts are related to the Syrian civil war.

“Such a blast is expected. I believe it is closely related to what’s happening in Syria and Iran has been identified as a major player in the Syrian conflict,” Ibrahim Sharqieh, a conflict resolution analyst at the Brookings Doha Center, told Al Arabiya News on Tuesday.

“The blasts have sent off a serious warning over the future of the Syrian conflict, whether we’re going to see more involvement in the neighboring countries. Lebanon has a very fragile political system which can easily pulled in to all this.

Located in a Hezbollah suburb, the embassy is considered to be one of most heavily guarded buildings in southern Lebanon.

 Still, Sharqieh believes this does not grant the building immunity from such attacks.

“I don’t there is any immune spot in the southern suburbs, or anywhere in Beirut. This kind of bombing can be carried out by as little as one or two individuals.”

Al Arabiya