By World Israel News Staff
Israel will be required to begin a gradual withdrawal from Lebanon and complete it within two months under understandings reached between the United States and Iran, according to a report published on Wednesday.
Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Tehran had given Hezbollah assurances that the agreement with Washington includes an end to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, guarantees for Lebanon’s territorial integrity and a timetable for Israel to end its military deployment in southern Lebanon.
According to the report, a source close to the two major Shi’ite factions in Lebanon – Hezbollah and Amal – said that Iran had promised Hezbollah that after the initial US-Iran agreement is signed Friday, Israel would have to begin withdrawing from Lebanon and complete the withdrawal before a final nuclear agreement with Iran is signed.
The source said Tehran had promised not to sign a final nuclear agreement with Washington unless Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon is completed. Israel has not publicly responded to the report.
The report came a day after Hezbollah and Iran publicly linked Israel’s presence in Lebanon to the next phase of US-Iran talks.
Hezbollah’s media office told Reuters it believed “there will be no nuclear deal between Iran and the United States if Israel does not withdraw.” The group said a withdrawal would be the result of negotiations, not a formal precondition.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tuesday that the end of the regional war must also include Lebanon.
He added that any Israeli attack on Lebanon or continued Israeli presence on Lebanese territory “will, in our view, be considered a violation of the memorandum of understanding.”
Israel is not a party to the reported US-Iran agreement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon as long as necessary, and that Israel would keep “freedom of action” to prevent Hezbollah attacks. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also said, “Trump’s agreement does not bind us.”
The dispute over Lebanon has emerged as one of the first tests of the US-Iran framework, which is expected to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday.
“You don’t need to knock down an apartment house when you are looking for somebody because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they are not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you,” Trump said.
