{"id":7611,"date":"2026-07-01T16:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/01\/will-not-leave-is-israel-killing-the-us-iran-mou-by-staying-in-lebanon\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T16:35:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:35:25","slug":"will-not-leave-is-israel-killing-the-us-iran-mou-by-staying-in-lebanon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/01\/will-not-leave-is-israel-killing-the-us-iran-mou-by-staying-in-lebanon\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Will not leave\u2019: Is Israel killing the US-Iran MoU by staying in Lebanon?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>As he visited troops in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the military \u201cwill not leave\u201d the area as long as the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah remains a \u201cthreat\u201d to his nation.<\/p>\n<p>A day earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also said Israel\u2019s military will not withdraw \u201ca millimetre\u201d until Hezbollah is disarmed.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/30\/evolution-under-fire-irans-axis-of-resistance-in-a-post-war-era\">Evolution under fire: Iran\u2019s \u2018axis of resistance\u2019 in a post-war era<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/7\/1\/the-lebanon-israel-agreement-is-paving-the-way-for-the-next-war\">The Lebanon-Israel agreement is paving the way for the next war<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/1\/us-iran-negotiations-whats-the-latest\">US-Iran negotiations: What\u2019s the latest?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>But the Israeli stance is squarely at odds with the first clause of the US-Iran <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/17\/read-the-us-account-of-unreleased-14-point-iran-ceasefire-memorandum\">Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)<\/a>, which provides for an immediate, permanent halt to fighting on \u201call fronts\u201d, including in Lebanon where Israeli forces have occupied approximately one-fifth of the country since early March.<\/p>\n<p>That provision has since been undercut by a separate US-brokered framework agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government, which doesn\u2019t require Israeli forces to leave southern Lebanon or halt attacks \u2013 a deal Hezbollah has denounced.<\/p>\n<p>The result has been an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/26\/forever-wars-israels-conflict-cycle-shows-no-finish-line\">entrenchment of Israel\u2019s military presence in Lebanon<\/a>, even as strikes have eased to avoid reigniting direct conflict with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/30\/what-is-iran-looking-for-in-any-upcoming-talks-with-the-us\">Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That leaves an open question: Is Israel\u2019s position <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/19\/destruction-is-the-goal-israel-steers-between-the-us-iran-and-lebanon\">bluster for a domestic audience<\/a>, or a hard line that could unravel the fragile MoU? We spoke to analysts to find out.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4528035\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4528035\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/INTERACTIVE-Israel-south-lebanon-bint-jbeil-map-1777363494.png?quality=80\" alt=\"INTERACTIVE - Israel south lebanon bint jbeil map-1777363494\" data-interactive=\"true\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4528035\">[Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"lose-lose-for-netanyahu\">\u2018Lose-lose\u2019 for Netanyahu<\/h2>\n<p>Behind Netanyahu\u2019s combative language is an embattled prime minister managing a difficult balancing act, Cyrus Schayegh, professor of international history and politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>On the one hand, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/27\/could-israels-coming-election-see-an-end-to-netanyahus-political-career\">domestic politics<\/a> has made Netanyahu reluctant to be seen as backing down from the war with Hezbollah, which began firing rockets into northern Israel soon after the first US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28, in which Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. Israel responded with force and has launched near-daily strikes, as well as an expanding ground invasion, ever since.<\/p>\n<p>With elections expected around October, a hasty withdrawal from Lebanon could look like capitulation \u2013 and worse, an implicit admission that he only fell into line because of pressure from US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>But the other side of that \u201close-lose\u201d is Washington. Netanyahu, Schayegh says, understands exactly what Trump wants from him: to prevent the Israel-Hezbollah front from unravelling the broader US-Iran negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>Defying that expectation risks a rupture with the US at a moment when Israel can least afford one.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4722273\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4722273\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/epa_6a4502259cb1-1782907429.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"epa13009185 Israeli security personnel remain on alert and scan the sky for an FPV drone in Metula, northern Israel, 01 June 2026. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered strikes on what his office described as Hezbollah targets in Beirut's southern suburbs, according to a statement from his office. EPA\/ATEF SAFADI\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4722273\">Israeli security personnel remain on alert and scan the sky for an FPV drone in Metula, northern Israel, after Netanyahu ordered strikes on what his office described as Hezbollah targets in Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs, according to a statement from his office [Atef Safadi\/EPA]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"iran-s-deep-commitment\">Iran\u2019s \u2018deep commitment\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Tehran has explicitly and repeatedly stated that Israel must fully withdraw from all occupied Lebanese territories before it will entertain signing any sort of peace deal with the US.<\/p>\n<p>Schayegh said this reflects Iran\u2019s deep commitment to Hezbollah\u2019s survival \u2013 the group has proven itself a vital strategic partner over the years, and the ties between Hezbollah\u2019s leadership and the Iranian regime run deeper than pure strategy, reaching into socio-cultural and even family bonds.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/10\/10\/what-is-hezbollah-a-look-at-the-lebanese-armed-group-backing-hamas\">Hezbollah<\/a> is a major issue for Iran, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and it has shown this by its willingness to strike northern Israel and block the Strait of Hormuz over the issue before, geopolitical analyst Joe Macaron told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>But that doesn\u2019t mean Iran expects, or even wants, a full return to the pre-Gaza war status quo, Schayegh says.<\/p>\n<p>At least some in Tehran, he believes, understand that getting Israel out of Lebanon won\u2019t mean restoring the arrangement that held before 2023, when the Lebanese army played little to no role in the south, and Hezbollah operated largely unchecked, a dynamic dating back to the 2006 war in which Israel also occupied southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n<p>That recognition, Schayegh argues, means the form Hezbollah\u2019s precise posture and footprint in southern Lebanon takes isn\u2019t treated by Tehran as non-negotiable.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, it functions as a bargaining chip, one Iran could potentially use incrementally, trading concessions step by step in a slow, deliberate, diplomatic process, he says, adding that although it\u2019s \u201ca delicate path\u201d for Tehran to walk. Diminishing the power of Hezbollah in Lebanon, therefore, it is a path Iran may be prepared to navigate around rather than resist outright.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Iran holding on to the Lebanon issue \u201cas much as it could\u201d was reportedly a sticking point that delayed the MoU in the first place, according to Ronnie Chatah, a political commentator, writer and host of The Beirut Banyan podcast.<\/p>\n<p>He told Al Jazeera it\u2019s conceivable Iran could still make Lebanon \u201ca heightened problem\u201d, slowing a permanent deal with Washington unless there\u2019s added pressure on Israel to at least appear to be withdrawing.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, Chatah doesn\u2019t believe the current situation is enough to derail the MoU altogether.<\/p>\n<p>In the days since both agreements were signed, he said, there\u2019s been no serious push by Iran to make Lebanon a priority and, despite Israel\u2019s clear insistence it will stay as long as it sees a threat, he does not believe it will \u201cjeopardise\u201d the MoU.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"hezbollah-s-exclusion-humiliating-shameful-and-a-surrender\">Hezbollah\u2019s exclusion: \u2018humiliating, shameful and a surrender\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Hezbollah was not involved in the framework agreement between Israeli and Lebanese officials. In fact, it was entirely excluded from the negotiations, which led to a deal being signed in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<p>Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has adamantly rejected the framework agreement, calling it \u201chumiliating, shameful and a surrender of sovereignty\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>As a party which has held seats in the Lebanese parliament since the mid-2000s, Schayegh noted, Hezbollah is not simply a \u201cmarionette\u201d of Iran. But since Israel\u2019s 2024 campaign in Lebanon, amid the Gaza war, which has massively weakened the armed group and killed much of its leadership, Iran has organisationally assumed a greater role.<\/p>\n<p>For Chatah, the real answers, therefore, lie not in Lebanon but in Iran.<\/p>\n<p>As the most important player in its \u201caxis of resistance\u201d across the region, Hezbollah represents Iran\u2019s most \u201cadvanced investment\u201d beyond its borders over the past four and a half decades, he said. The armed group also remains \u201ca very valuable asset for security leverage\u201d across the region, even after being hit hard, degrading its capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>He said it is unlikely Tehran could be persuaded to abandon Hezbollah anytime soon, or in the long term \u2013 the group is simply too important for the Iranian regime to give up, and may ultimately be \u201cthe lifeline for the Iranian regime\u201d itself.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Israel also refuses to back down on the disarmament and removal of Hezbollah.<\/p>\n<p>Chatah points to a historical precedent for this kind of impasse: a 1983 tripartite agreement between Lebanon and Israel ultimately collapsed, followed by a wave of attacks, including on international peacekeepers and the US embassy, after which Hezbollah emerged as a dominant security actor in Lebanon as Israeli forces later withdrew.<\/p>\n<p>Still, without Hezbollah\u2019s buy-in, the deal will be \u201cdifficult to implement\u201d and could trigger further conflict, Macaron said.<\/p>\n<p>A framework that sidesteps the core issues, the Lebanese army\u2019s role and an Israeli withdrawal, isn\u2019t built on solid ground, Macaron said, adding that it is merely the start of a process rather than a long-term resolution.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"trump-s-priority-the-nuclear-file\">Trump\u2019s priority: the nuclear file<\/h2>\n<p>For Washington, Macaron says, the priority is clear: The nuclear issue with Iran takes precedence over everything else, and the US isn\u2019t willing to be flexible on that front.<\/p>\n<p>Avoiding a return to escalation with Iran matters more than pressing hard on Lebanon \u2013 meaning the US doesn\u2019t want Hezbollah \u201cunder complete pressure\u201d either, he said.<\/p>\n<p>If Washington and Tehran can make progress on the bilateral nuclear talks in the coming weeks, Macaron suggests, the US is likely to show more flexibility on the Lebanon issue as a result.<\/p>\n<p>Schayegh also noted that the US has much riding on the outcome, and the balance of leverage between the two sides is tilted more towards Iran than before \u2013 partly because Iran can now hurt the US in ways it previously couldn\u2019t or wouldn\u2019t, such as by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which directly harms Americans and the wider global economy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As he visited troops in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the military \u201cwill not leave\u201d the area as long as the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah remains a \u201cthreat\u201d to his nation. A day earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also said Israel\u2019s military will not withdraw \u201ca millimetre\u201d until &#8230; <a title=\"\u2018Will not leave\u2019: Is Israel killing the US-Iran MoU by staying in Lebanon?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/01\/will-not-leave-is-israel-killing-the-us-iran-mou-by-staying-in-lebanon\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about \u2018Will not leave\u2019: Is Israel killing the US-Iran MoU by staying in Lebanon?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}