Iran will not dispatch its forces to join a conflict between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel, and it favors "legal and diplomatic" solutions, a government spokesman said on Monday.

While opposing aggression and oppression, Iran's foreign policy doctrines will not support sending troops in conflicts in other countries, Gholam-Hossein Elham told a weekly news briefing.

Tehran favors use of "all legal and diplomatic ways" to halt Israel's military actions against Lebanon, the official IRNA news agency quoted the spokesman as saying.

Israel's ongoing attack against innocent civilians in Lebanon " has no justification," Elham said, adding that Israel's aim was to broaden its dominance in the region with the support of "certain big powers."

The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, has also said that Iran would not enter the current crisis in Lebanon militarily, while vowing to continue diplomatic and political supports to Lebanon, the Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

Iranian officials have reiterated indignation at Israeli offensives in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, calling on Islamic countries to be more active in an effort to stop the conflicts.

On July 12, Israel launched a massive offensive in Lebanon in retaliation for the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerillas in a border clash which also killed eight others.

Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon since the violence broke out, while Israeli jets and artillery have responded with massive bombardments on targets across Lebanon.

Over the past few days, Israel has carried out ground incursions into southern Lebanon in a bid to neutralize Hezbollah and remove the group from the border area.

The conflict has killed more than 360 Lebanese and 36 Israelis.

Source: Xinhua