Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, gave an interview to CBS News on Sunday and was asked about the situation in southern Lebanon. Leiter, who is leading the Israeli delegation in negotiations with Beirut, made clear that the main goal of the talks is to completely remove Iran and Hezbollah from the equation—and not to return to a situation where Israeli civilians are threatened by a pro-Iranian terror organization.
1+Leiter said: “I’m leading the negotiations on behalf of Israel with Lebanon, so I know a thing or two about the trilateral agreement. And what the agreement with Lebanon does is completely remove Iran from the equation. Iran is not supposed to be involved in Lebanon. They have no business being in Lebanon. Hezbollah has no business being in Lebanon. In fact, Israel and Lebanon are on the same page. We want Hezbollah out for our security and for their sovereignty.”
The senior official was asked about the IDF’s control of the security zone: “We can withdraw the moment Hezbollah is dismantled. If Hezbollah is not dismantled, then we’ll need to stay in our security zone because we’re not going back to a situation where our civilians are threatened by an Iranian proxy that fires missiles and builds tunnels so they can attack, as Hamas did on October 7th.”
1+The ambassador responded regarding delays in the pilot withdrawal in southern Lebanon: “No, it’s not being delayed. We’re working together with CENTCOM and the Lebanese army to create the conditions that will lead to a situation where the pilot areas will be ready to receive the Lebanese army. If they’re not ready to receive them, if Hezbollah remains there, we haven’t achieved anything, and that’s why they’re called pilot areas. If it works, then we continue with the withdrawal. If it doesn’t work, then we stay where we are.”