Israeli attack on Lebanon triggers effort to preserve agreement

American officials were concerned that the potential deal with Iran was on the verge of collapse early Sunday after Israel attacked Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut, leading to hasty, behind-the-scenes attempts to preserve the deal and secure official approval from Tehran, according to people familiar with the matter.

In conversations with Qatari officials, who were in Tehran trying to conclude the agreement, US officials sought to avoid further retaliation.

American officials believed Iran was preparing for attacks against Israel in the hours leading up to the announcement and worked to prevent an attack through last-minute discussions over certain words in the agreement, these people said.

"After the Israelis attacked Beirut, we were very concerned," Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Sunday. "And we saw a lot of evidence that the Iranians were going to launch a large number of missiles at the Israelis. With our communication with them throughout the process of getting this signed peace agreement, they assured us that they were not going to respond to the Israelis and that they were going to sign this agreement and reach peace."

It was not immediately clear what, if any, changes were made to the plan in the final minutes before Pakistan's prime minister announced it was complete. But officials said the Israeli strike in Lebanon helped boost the final negotiations.

President Donald Trump was enraged by the Israeli attacks and expressed his fury using profanity in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a US official said.

Source: CNN