Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reaffirmed on Sunday that Tehran will continue pushing for a full Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon following the signing of a new “framework agreement” between Israel and the Lebanese government.
“Our goal is to end the war in Lebanon, [help] return of refugees to their homes, end the occupation and [secure] withdrawal of the Zionist regime from Lebanese territory,” Ghalibaf told Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in a phone call, according to Iran’s PressTV.
The agreement has been strongly rejected by Hezbollah, which wasn’t involved in the negotiations. Berri, leader of the Amal Movement, a Shia political faction that’s largely aligned with Hezbollah, has also rejected the deal, saying it is “contradictory and impossible to implement” and calling it an “incitement to civil war.”
While not explicitly stated in the text of the agreement that was published, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the deal allows Israel to continue its occupation of southern Lebanon. Israeli media is also reporting that the security annex of the deal maintains the occupation and gives the IDF “full freedom of action.”
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem called the agreement “null and void” and said the Lebanese government had given unilateral concessions and undermined Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Like other agreements between Israel and the Lebanese government, the framework agreement failed to achieve a ceasefire as Israeli strikes and clashes between the IDF and Hezbollah have continued in southern Lebanon since the deal was signed.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the signing of the framework and has previously said that the situation in Lebanon was separate from the ceasefire with Iran, despite the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding explicitly stating that the agreement includes a full ceasefire in Lebanon.
