Iran has told Hezbollah that the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon is included in the US-Iran deal and is expected to take place over a phased 60-day period, a source within the Iran-backed group told The National .
“It now depends on what [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu thinks,” the source added.
The withdrawal of Israeli troops, whose presence in southern Lebanon has prevented many of the 1.2 million displaced people from returning home, remains a contentious issue after the US and Iran announced their interim agreement on Sunday.
Uncertainty remains over whether Israel will ultimately pull out of Lebanon. A Lebanese political source told The National that the country has received no official guarantees over Israel's withdrawal and has yet to discuss the matter with Washington.
Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that their troops will not withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon. “I want to make it clear: we will remain in these security zones for as long as necessary to protect our country,” Mr Netanyahu said on Monday, referring to occupied areas of Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
Israel has seized vast swathes of territory in southern Lebanon during the war. The occupied area comprises at least 54 villages, trapping at least seven per cent of the country below what Israel calls the “yellow line”. Many of the villages have been subjected to controlled demolitions.
Iran has consistently linked the Lebanese issue to the wider conflict, maintaining throughout the negotiations that any ceasefire agreement must include Lebanon.
The peace process will not be complete “without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories it occupied in this war”, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump urged Mr Netanyahu to be “responsible about Lebanon” while speaking to reporters at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday. Mr Trump's apparent bid to pressure the Israeli leader came amid continuing military operations in southern Lebanon, which have at times threatened to derail negotiations with Iran.
The full terms of the deal between the US and Iran have yet to be disclosed. Several sticking points remain, including Lebanon and the future of Iran's nuclear programme.
The second stage of talks, during which negotiators are expected to tackle the most difficult issues, will begin in Switzerland on Friday following the formal signing of the framework agreement, Mr Araghchi said.
Thousands of people have been killed and many areas of southern Lebanon destroyed during Israel's military campaign. AFP Info
Two tracks
The Lebanese state has been engaged in a separate diplomatic process aimed at halting the fighting and reaching a lasting peace agreement. Lebanon has held direct talks with Israel in Washington, the first such negotiations in three decades. Hezbollah is not part of the negotiations and has firmly opposed them.
“This track is separate from the US-Iran deal,” the Lebanese political source said.
Following the most recent round of talks in Washington, Lebanon and Israel announced in a joint statement on June 4 the establishment of “pilot zones”. The Lebanese Army would assume exclusive control of the territory inside the zones, with all non-state armed groups excluded. These are yet to be implemented.
It remains unclear which track of talks – the Lebanese-Israeli discussions or the US-Iran talks – is driving negotiations over the withdrawal of the Israeli army.
Lebanese and Israeli delegations are set to meet in Washington for another round of talks from June 22 to 25.
The Israeli army continues to shell areas in southern Lebanon. On Tuesday, The National heard constant artillery fire around Nabatieh , as Israeli troops remained positioned on the outskirts of the southern city. Some areas are off limits to many residents. On Monday, Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon killed one person and injured several others, including a journalist.
Later that day, Hezbollah said it had repelled an Israeli force attempting to “advance” near the town of Kfar Tebnit, close to Nabatieh. Fighters from the group, “using rockets and drones”, blocked the Israeli force, Hezbollah said in a statement.
Israel's occupation has been widely denounced by Lebanese officials. Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh told The National on Monday that an end to the occupation was a prerequisite for any lasting peace arrangement. He described Israel's strategy of “security zones” as “unacceptable”.
The war started in early March when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and Israel's repeated violations of a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon.
Israel retaliated with a military campaign that killed more than 3,600 people, displaced more than one million and resulted in a new occupation zone extending up to 10km inside southern Lebanon.
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