"A total of 117 Iranians, including diplomats and embassy staff, were evacuated on a Russian plane that left Beirut overnight from Saturday to Sunday," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The evacuation comes after Lebanon's government on Thursday banned any activity by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps -- a main backer of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The government also imposed a visa requirement on Iranians entering the country as part of measures to pressure the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The official said the Iranian embassy had informed Lebanese authorities beforehand of the evacuation operation, which was carried out via Beirut's international airport.

The official added that the plane was heading to Turkey, without specifying the final destination of the Iranians.

Beirut airport, located near the city's southern suburbs, which have been pounded by Israeli air strikes since Monday, is operational despite the bombardment, but only Lebanon's national carrier Middle East Airlines is operating significant numbers of flights.

The body of an Iranian diplomat killed during the war, along with those of his wife and three children, were also on board the plane, the official added.

Hezbollah, which on Monday drew Lebanon into the war between Iran, Israel and the United States by launching strikes against Israel, is being overseen by Iranian liaison officers, according to a Lebanese security source.

Overnight Saturday into Sunday, an Israeli strike targeted a seafront hotel in Beirut, hitting the heart of the Lebanese capital for the first time since the war began.

The Israeli army said it had "carried out a precise strike against key commanders of the Lebanon Corps of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps".

Four people were killed and 10 wounded, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army announced it had killed with a strike in Tehran a Lebanese liaison officer with the Revolutionary Guards who was in charge of Iran's external operations.