Iran’s FM Araghchi calls for Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon ahead of US-Iran peace deal signing | Today’s news
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday (local time) that any peace deal with the United States must include Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Tel Aviv has already rejected the condition, a stance that could jeopardize the deal and risk a return to all-out war.
Araghchi’s remarks came as Washington and Tehran work to finalize a memorandum of understanding that would end months of conflict. He added that Israel’s continued occupation of Lebanese territory would violate the agreement, adding: “Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war is not completely over.”
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Peace deal between the US and Iran
The peace deal between the US and Iran has not yet been made public. Officials sometimes offered conflicting interpretations of what was in it. Although Israel is not a party to the deal, it is part of the war after joining the US in airstrikes against Iran in late February. Tel Aviv has also fought the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, seizing much of the country.
Citing a US official who outlined the deal, the AP news agency said the agreement did not require Israel to withdraw. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would remain in Lebanon “as long as necessary.”
Read also | Trump criticizes Israeli attacks on Lebanon and suggests Syria take on Hezbollah
However, his remarks are in stark contrast to the 14-point draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) released by Iran’s Mehr news agency. According to the alleged draft agreement, Tehran consistently insists on the withdrawal of Tel Aviv from Lebanon and seeks an end to fighting on all fronts.
Donald Trump criticizes Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s tactics in Lebanon
Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump went after Netanyahu in language that no other US president has. As Trump tried to finalize a peace deal with Iran, he took credit for Tel Aviv’s existence, saying “without me there would be no Israel” — and damning his judgment in interviews. He even described him as “crazy”. Relations between the two leaders appear to be strained, despite Netanyahu reportedly telling Trump last year that he was “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”
In addition, he also issued a rare public rebuke of Israel’s military tactics in Lebanon, saying it was not necessary to bomb residential buildings in Lebanon to hunt down Hezbollah militants.
Trump, who has expressed his displeasure in recent days over Israeli attacks in Beirut that he said could jeopardize his peace deal with Iran, said Israel has been fighting Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia linked to Iran, “for too long.”
“Too many people have been killed. You don’t have to tear down an apartment building every time you’re looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment buildings and not all of them are Hezbollah,” Trump said at the G7 summit in France on June 16.
Israeli officials express frustration with the US-Iran deal
Recently, the tension between Trump and Netanyahu has become more pronounced. According to reports, Israeli officials are quietly expressing frustration with the Iran deal struck by the Republican president, while Trump is impatient with Netanyahu over Israeli strikes in Beirut that sparked Iranian attacks just as he was working to finalize a peace deal.
Earlier on Monday, at least two far-right Israeli ministers condemned the US-Iran peace deal to end the war in West Asia, including Lebanon, and insisted their country was not bound by it.
In a post on X, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote: “Trump’s deal does not bind us…we are not a party to this deal. It does not ensure our security,” adding: “We must not settle for anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah. We must not withdraw from a single centimeter of territory that our troops have captured and cleared of terrorist infrastructure.”
This sentiment was echoed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who called the peace agreement between the US and Iran “bad for Israel.”
