Iran demands full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as part of final deal
Iran has stated that the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon must be part of a final agreement with the US, as fighting continues to put the interim agreement between both sides at risk.
"The withdrawal of the occupants from all occupied Lebanese areas is necessary to reach a definitive and lasting agreement that establishes regional stability," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday (28), according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
Iran also insisted on the full implementation of the memorandum's first clause, the end of Israel's war and military operations against Lebanon, Baghaei said.
The first article of the memorandum of understanding signed earlier this month provides for "the immediate and permanent end of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon."
The text also states that "the definitive agreement will confirm the permanent end of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon", but does not explicitly require the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.
Also on Sunday, Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, declared: "Our goal is to end the war in Lebanon, allow displaced people to return to their homes, end the occupation and ensure the withdrawal of the Zionist regime from Lebanese territory."
"We are addressing this issue with determination," Ghalibaf told Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament and the country's highest-ranking Shiite official.
Israel has refused to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, citing the continued threat that Hezbollah - an Iranian-backed group - poses to communities in northern Israel.
On Friday (26), the governments of Israel and Lebanon agreed to a process by which the LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) would gradually take control of areas in southern Lebanon.
To date, the Lebanese armed forces have been unable to force Hezbollah to disarm or withdraw its fighters from southern Lebanon.
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Source: CNN