Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90

Israel in Tough Talks with US Over Lebanon Presence

By: Rivka Sorek

Editor: C14 Editors

3 Tammuz 5786 (18.06.26)

As American pressure mounts, an Israeli official told Reuters that Jerusalem insists on staying in southern Lebanon and is conducting intensive negotiations with Washington on the issue.

At the same time, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaie continues to set conditions

for implementing the memorandum of understanding signed between Tehran and Washington. In an interview with the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, he claimed that from Iran’s perspective, any progress towards a permanent agreement depends on a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and a complete cessation of military activity in the country.

According to Baqaie, the memorandum signed with the United States includes an American commitment to guarantee Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Tehran interprets this commitment as a demand for the complete withdrawal of IDF forces from all Lebanese territory. “If this does not happen, the memorandum of understanding is null and void,” he said, adding that a permanent agreement between the parties can only be formed after “a complete cessation of hostilities and an end to the occupation.”

The Iranian spokesman emphasized that the issue of Lebanon was an integral part of the negotiations from the beginning, and claimed that Iran opposed any attempt to separate the various arenas in the region. “When we talk about ending the war, it should be on all fronts and in full,” he said. According to him, Iran made it clear throughout the talks that it would not agree to a “partial end” of the fighting or to abandoning its allies in Lebanon.