IRAN WAR: Peace deal already under strain as Israel vows to remain in Lebanon
· Toronto Sun
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The newly announced U.S-Iran interim peace agreement is already showing signs of strain Monday as Israel announced plans to stay in Lebanon.
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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said his ground troops won’t withdraw from land seized in Lebanon as the interim deal is pending.
Israel has not been a party to the negotiations, though the U.S.-Iran interim peace deal involved both sides declaring the end of fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Katz said Israel plans to stay “indefinitely” in lands it holds in Lebanon, as well as Syria and the Gaza Strip, AFP reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly respond to the deal, but his coalition ally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, has already dismissed it, saying Israel is “not bound” by the agreement.
On Sunday, the U.S. and Iran announced that an interim peace agreement had been reached that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, and begin 60 days of nuclear negotiations.
Pakistan, which has been a key mediator in the peace talks, said it will oversee the formal signing ceremony of the interim agreement in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, according to Al Jazeera.
The pact will extend a ceasefire for another 60 days, during which the U.S. and Iran will negotiate details of a final agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had ordered the immediate removal of a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. He also said the Strait of Hormuz would be opened when the initial agreement is signed.
Trump lashes out at Netanyahu
In two separate interviews Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon just hours before a tentative agreement was announced.
Speaking to Axios in a phone interview, Trump said he was “pissed off” at Netanyahu for striking Lebanon as the U.S. was looking to wrap up negotiations with Iran over the weekend.
“Why did Bibi have to do a f—ing attack?” Trump told the outlet. “I was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no f—ing judgment. I let him know that.”
In a New York Times interview Sunday, the U.S. president called Netanyahu a “very difficult guy” and said, “he should be very thankful to us for doing this. Because if Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel wouldn’t be around for two hours.”