Iran Is Standing Firm On Lebanon, Will The U.S. Force Israel To Withdraw?

Iran Is Standing Firm On Lebanon, What Will The U.S. Do?

Written By: Justin K.P.

Iran is currently standing firm on ensuring the United States follows the first point of the memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. on Wednesday.

The first point of the MOU clearly states “The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war, by signing this MOU, declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon .”

(Emphasis:Mine)

Israel, however, has refused to withdraw from South Lebanon . Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel “will restore security to the north,” adding, “this requires maintaining the security strip in southern Lebanon, and that requires that we not withdraw as long as Israel’s security needs require it”.

Israel also released “a new map on … showing an expanded southern area occupied by its troops”.

The Times of Israel reported :

The IDF publishes an updated map of its security zone in southern Lebanon, saying it will not be withdrawing from the territory at this stage.

Stretching east to west, the deployment line on the map runs up to 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep from the border into Lebanese territory.

Iran has made clear that this is a violation of the MOU. According to the Lebanese outlet Al Mayadeen , “The Iranian negotiating delegation has postponed its trip to Switzerland due to the ongoing Israeli aggression on southern Lebanon, an informed source told Al Mayadeen on Thursday. According to the source, the delegation had already been preparing to depart Iran and launch the first round of negotiations, scheduled to span 60 days, before the decision to suspend the trip was made.”

Now, it is up to the United States to ensure that Israel withdraws from Lebanon completely, in accordance with the MOU, to ensure the negotiations continue.

The U.S., as of late, has made it clear that it wants Israel to fully end its occupation of Lebanon.

“Israel has been fighting Hezbollah for a long time, and many people have been killed.
You don’t have to knock down an apartment building every time you’re looking for someone, because many people live in those buildings. And they’re not all Hezbollah, I can tell you that” Trump said before signing the MOU, later reiterating, “We (Trump and Netanyahu) have a little dispute over Lebanon. I say you can do a little softer touch, Bibi. You don’t have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah”.

Vice President JD Vance similarly issued a warning to Israel reminding it that “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world … Anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the President of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation in that country”.

Vance similarly stated that Israel, needs to “respect this peace process” adding, “What the president gets very frustrated [with] sometimes is that we seem to be right on the cusp of a major breakthrough in the agreement, and then all of a sudden, there’s a major explosion that goes off in a civilian population center in Beirut, and a lot of people who have nothing to do with Hezbollah lose their lives. That’s not acceptable. That’s the sort of thing that we’ve asked for closer coordination so that we ensure it doesn’t happen”.

But this tough talk towards Israel will mean nothing without action.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that Israeli “officials warned that the messages coming from Washington are no longer limited to difficult discussions. The US is signaling that if Israel continues to insist on its position, it will consider practical measures, ranging from delays in weapons shipments to restrictions on operational assistance, and even more severe steps that could potentially amount to a de facto arms embargo.”

The outlet added, “Trump wants an explicit commitment from Netanyahu to withdraw, or at least a formula that would allow Trump to present an achievement regarding Lebanon to the Islamic Republic.”

The only way that Israel will be forced to withdraw from Southern Lebanon is if the United States actually follows through with an arms embargo, if it will not.

Iran will doubtlessly stand strong on the issue of Lebanon; the question is, will the U.S. actually force Israel to abide by the deal it desperately wants?

The future of the MOU depends on this.

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