Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly said that Israeli troops will not withdraw out of southern Lebanon, despite it being a stern condition by Iran for signing of the peace deal.
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In his first remarks since the deal was signed virtually by Trump and Iran’s President on Wednesday, Netanyahu remarked, “We will restore security to the north.”
“This requires maintaining the security zone in southern Lebanon, and it requires that we not leave it as long as Israel’s security needs demand it,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying in a Times of Israel report.
Three killed in Lebanon
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed three people in Lebanon on Thursday in two separate incidents. According to Lebanese state media National News Agency, the first attack took place in the town of Kfar Tebnit, where a car with two people was targeted by a drone.
The two have been identified as Bilal Kamal Hayek and Ali Ismail Tufaili. HT could not verify the identities independently. In a separate attack, a man was killed in a drone strike in the southern town of Zebdin, according to NNA.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health says Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,900 people since the beginning of the Iran war, according to CNN.
‘Close ties with US’
Netanyahu underscored the importance of maintaining Israel’s close ties with the US, saying Washington had stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel during the war with Iran, AFP reported.
“The struggle is not yet over, and further challenges lie ahead. They require calm judgement, steadfast defence of Israel’s security interests, and at the same time the preservation of our vital relationship with our American friends, who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in this fight — a partnership we deeply appreciate,” Netanyahu said at a function, according to a statement issued by his office.
Netanyahu will try to influence Trump, says report
The Israeli prime minister is aiming to influence the final Iran deal using right-wing media figures and senators to exert pressure on President Donald Trump, CNN reported citing an Israeli source.
The report further states that Netanyahu has been skeptical of Iran’s intentions throughout the talks with the US and is not operating from good faith. The deal between the US and Iran as Iran will not agree to halt its nuclear ambitions.
Since the deal was announce the first time, many right-wing leaders have opposed it, saying US deal “does not” apply to Israel.
“Trump’s agreement does not bind us. Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation!,” wrote national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on X.
“We are not partners to this agreement that does not ensure our security, and it does not bind us in any way. We must not compromise on anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah, we must not withdraw from any territory that our fighters have captured and cleared of terror infrastructure, we must not return to a situation where thousands of terrorists sit on the fences of northern settlements, and certainly we must not remain silent for a moment in the face of fire directed at the State of Israel,” the far-right minister added further.
Pro-Israel podcaster Mark Levin on Wednesday said the deal “doesn’t make any sense” and called the reconstruction fund for Iran a “slush fund,” according to CNN.
Netanyahu also told Trump that Israel does not see itself as bound by the deal, which requires an “immediate and permanent termination” of the war in Lebanon.
Netanyahu having ‘stubborn’ conversations with Trump
Netanyahu, reportedly, is having “stubborn” conversations with US US over continuing its deployment of troops in southern Lebanon, two Israeli officials told Reuters.
Also Read: Iran peace deal signed, but Israel still unwilling to pull troops out of Lebanon
Another senior official said that the outcome of these conversations depends on Trump, whether or not he “decides to force the issue” by threatening repercussions if Israel does not abide by the pact’s terms.
The deal between US and Iran was signed virtually on Wednesday. Trump signed it in the Palace of Versailles after attending the G7 Summit in Evion, France. He then sent a ich Iranian president signed the deal.
The deal brings an almost three-month long war to an end, and opens a 60-day negotiating window to reach a final agreement with Iran.
