Iranian official says end of war includes end of Israel’s occupation of Lebanon 

[AP Photo]

Iran’s top diplomat said yesterday that the deal ending the war with the United States would also require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, raising questions about the still-unpublished agreement and whether disagreement over its terms could prolong conflict.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told diplomats from other countries that Israel’s continued occupation of southern Lebanon would violate the memorandum of understanding reached between the United States and Iran, in comments aired on Iranian state television.

“The end of the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of complete end of the war,” Araghchi said. “Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end.”

Araghchi said further Israeli attacks on Lebanon “will be considered by us a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding.”

The United States has not said whether Lebanon was part of the final agreement. But Araghchi’s description clashes with statements made by Israeli officials about the deal to end the war that started with joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28.

Israel is not party to the agreement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday described it as Trump’s decision, noting Israel had its own priorities and would remain in a buffer zone in Lebanon “as long as necessary.”

The ambiguity mirrored developments during past negotiations, including the temporary ceasefire brokered in April. That agreement did not pave the way to broader peace or the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after the United States and Iran announced differing frameworks.

The discrepancy underscored how much of the agreement remains apparently unresolved ahead of a ceremonial signing Friday in Geneva.

The agreement is meant to provide a meaningful truce in a monthslong war that has killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran’s theocracy, and raised the prices of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the region.

The unpublished agreement provides for the “immediate” opening of the strait and lifting of the blockade, a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss outlines of the agreement on Monday.

It includes the possibility of releasing Iran’s frozen funds, easing sanctions and creating a $300 billion fund to rebuild Iran — all of which would be tied to Iran meeting benchmarks, a second senior U.S. official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss outlines of the agreement, said. JON GAMBRELL, MICHELLE L. PRICE and SAM METZ, DUBAI, MDT/AP