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Theo Jorden
Israel, Lebanon, and the United States signed a trilateral framework agreement in Washington on Friday meant to chart a path out of months of devastating conflict, but the celebratory tone of the signing ceremony was undercut almost immediately by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who made clear that Israeli forces have no intention of leaving
Israel, Lebanon, and the United States signed a trilateral framework agreement in Washington on Friday meant to chart a path out of months of devastating conflict, but the celebratory tone of the signing ceremony was undercut almost immediately by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who made clear that Israeli forces have no intention of leaving south Lebanon anytime soon.
“The most important thing, first and foremost, is that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in a video statement released shortly after the deal was announced. “This is a major achievement, and we will maintain it as long as Hezbollah has not been disarmed and as long as it continues to pose a threat to the State of Israel.”
The fourteen point agreement, signed at the State Department by Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh, and US State Department Counselor Dan Holler, establishes what officials are calling a structured process for disarming Hezbollah, dismantling the group’s military infrastructure, and eventually allowing Israeli troops to withdraw once the threat is removed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who oversaw four days of talks in the US capital, described the agreement as the “beginning of the beginning.”
Under the deal, Israel will establish two pilot zones along the Litani river from which it will pull back as the Lebanese Armed Forces move in to assert control. Leiter told reporters that further withdrawals depend entirely on Lebanon’s performance. “To the degree that the Lebanese army performs in dismantling and disarming Hezbollah, we will proceed with additional pilot zones,” he said.
A new US facilitated body, the trilateral Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, will oversee implementation, and Washington has pledged one hundred million dollars in immediate humanitarian assistance along with more than thirty million dollars to strengthen the Lebanese military.
Notably absent from the negotiations was Hezbollah itself, the armed group the entire framework is designed to disarm. A spokesperson for the group told Newsweek that Hezbollah would not surrender its weapons unless Israel withdraws unconditionally first, warning that “as long as there is occupation, there is resistance.” Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah went further, suggesting that any attempt by Lebanese authorities to enforce disarmament by force could push the country toward civil war.
That gap between what the agreement demands and what Hezbollah is willing to accept has left analysts skeptical. Rami Khouri, a fellow at the American University of Beirut, called the framework “not something very significant” on its own, noting that the Lebanese army lacks the capacity to forcibly disarm Hezbollah without the group’s cooperation.
The Lebanon track has unfolded alongside a separate and fragile process to end the broader Iran War. A memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Tehran the previous week called for a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of its terms, but Iran has continued to link events there to its own negotiations with the United States. Tehran has threatened to resume closing the Strait of Hormuz if Israeli operations against Hezbollah do not stop, a warning that carries enormous weight given that roughly a fifth of global oil shipments pass through the waterway.
Netanyahu framed the Lebanon agreement as a direct rebuke to that leverage. “This is also a major blow to Iran,” he said. “Iran is trying to coax us to withdraw from southern Lebanon by force. And in essence, Israel, Lebanon and the United States are telling Iran, it is none of your business.”
The agreement also exposed friction between Trump and Netanyahu. Trump confirmed earlier in June that he had privately called the Israeli leader “crazy,” even while insisting the two maintain an “amazing partnership.” At the G7 summit in France, Trump urged Netanyahu to adopt a “softer touch” toward Lebanon, saying, “you don’t have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has cautiously welcomed the framework as a first step toward restoring sovereignty, while Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has suggested Israel may need a long term military presence regardless of Hezbollah’s status, citing the need for “defendable borders.” With violence continuing on the ground, including Israeli strikes that killed several alleged Hezbollah operatives just hours after the signing, the durability of Friday’s agreement remains very much in question.
For continuing coverage of the broader regional fallout, see our reporting on the Iran War and its effect on Gulf security.
How control of the strait became the defining leverage point in the Iran negotiations.
Inside the back-channel diplomacy pushing toward a signed agreement.
The fragile ceasefire is holding even as broader negotiations hit roadblocks.
