Two tracks are moving in parallel to secure Israel’s withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory. The first is Lebanon’s direct negotiations with Israel, which are scheduled for their fifth session next Monday in Washington.
The second is Iranian pressure to complete the withdrawal before Tehran reaches a nuclear agreement with Washington within a 60-day window.
Iran has told Hezbollah it will not sign the agreement before Israel fully withdraws from Lebanese territory, a source from the “Shiite duo” in Lebanon told Asharq Al-Awsat. The duo is comprised of Hezbollah and its ally the Amal movement headed by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Lebanon has insisted from the start that direct talks with Israel address a package of demands, led by the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory they occupied during the war.
The declared understanding between Washington and Tehran made no mention of the issue, according to leaks. But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that ending the war would not be complete “without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied in this war.”
“Any military attack by the Zionist entity against Lebanon from now on, and any continued occupation of Lebanese territory from now on, will be considered, from our point of view, a violation of the memorandum of understanding,” he told a meeting with foreign diplomats broadcast by state television.
Lebanon’s negotiation track
The Lebanese state, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with a new round of negotiations due to open next Monday in Washington and run until Wednesday, with developments to be discussed in security and diplomatic sessions.
The Lebanese presidency said President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed the preparations on Tuesday.
Aoun and Salam described the US-Iranian understanding as “a positive factor” in easing regional tensions and pushing toward peaceful solutions and an end to the war.
At the same time, they reaffirmed “Lebanon’s firm position in the Washington negotiations” on a final ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the deployment of the Lebanese army up to the international border, the release of Lebanese prisoners and the start of reconstruction.
Gradual withdrawal within 60 days
Iran and Hezbollah are pursuing a parallel track.
A source, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the agreement between Iran and the United States “stipulates a ceasefire, a halt to Israeli attacks and a guarantee of Lebanon’s territorial integrity.”
The source said this would require Israeli commitment, “guaranteed by the United States.”
“Hezbollah was informed by the Iranian side that Israel, after the agreement is signed next Friday, must begin a gradual withdrawal from inside occupied Lebanese territory and complete the withdrawal before the date of signing the nuclear agreement with Iran,” the source said, referring to the 60-day deadline.
“The party was informed that Tehran will not sign the nuclear agreement with Washington before Israel’s full withdrawal,” the source added.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Tuesday sent a message of thanks to Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf “for obliging the Israeli entity to immediately and permanently halt military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, in connection with the end of the war on Iran, as the first and fundamental clause of the agreement between Iran and America.”
Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri and Ghalibaf discussed, in a phone call, field and political developments linked to the deal between the United States and Iran, especially the clause on ending Israel’s war on Lebanon.
A statement from the Lebanese parliament said Ghalibaf and Berri “stressed the need for the United States, the guarantors of the memorandum of understanding and the international community to assume their responsibility to compel Israel to end its war, stop demolishing villages, respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and withdraw immediately from the territories it occupied.”
Hezbollah’s opponents doubtful
Inside Lebanon, Hezbollah’s opponents questioned Iran’s ability to force an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
Members of the Strong Republic parliamentary bloc and the executive body of the Lebanese Forces party said after an extraordinary meeting that any agreement between the United States and Iran “remains a matter concerning the two states involved.”
“The ceasefire mentioned in the agreement is general and concerns the Middle East region. It has no practical repercussions for Lebanon because the party fighting in Lebanon is Israel, not the US,” they said in a statement.
They accused Tehran of “providing verbal services to Hezbollah so that it can continue fighting to achieve Iran’s objectives.”
They said that “what is required after all the suffering endured by the Lebanese people is not merely a ceasefire while keeping the old order in place, with Iran and Hezbollah forming an essential part of that old order, but a complete end to the successive wars that have torn Lebanon apart and impoverished it.”
They said the time had come to achieve that by dissolving illegal military organizations, “foremost among them Hezbollah.”
They also backed the direct negotiation track with Israel, describing it as “the only gateway to ending the wars in Lebanon and reaching an actual state that restores Lebanon’s Arab and international relations.”
The Kataeb Party stressed that Lebanon “is not concerned with any agreement involving Lebanon except one in which the Lebanese state and its legitimate institutions elected by the Lebanese people are involved, through the parties officially authorized to negotiate on their behalf in Washington.”
The party said those representatives were carrying out their role to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty and free decision-making, secure the Israeli withdrawal, halt attacks and complete government decisions to confine arms to the state and restore security decision-making to the official authorities.
