Netanyahu: Deal tells Iran and Hezbollah they have ‘no role in Lebanon,’ and that Israel can keep security zone as long as needed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hails yesterday’s framework agreement with Lebanon as “a historic achievement for Israel” that advances progress toward ending the bilateral conflict and opens the prospect of “an eventual peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”

Speaking at a press conference, Netanyahu says the deal is “a major blow” to Iran and to Hezbollah, and claims it marks US and Lebanese agreement to Israel holding a security zone in Lebanon for as long as is needed for Israeli security.

“We’ll continue to hold it until Hezbollah and other terror groups are disarmed,” he says of the current security zone, “until there is no longer a threat to Israel from Lebanon.”

He says Iran wanted to impose an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, but that he resisted this, and notes bitter Iranian and Hezbollah criticism of the agreement.

With this accord, he claims, Israel, Lebanon and the US “are essentially telling Iran, ‘This is none of your business. You have no status here, no involvement and no role. Not you, not Hezbollah, not any terror group.'”

He acknowledges that Israel will be withdrawing from two small areas it currently holds, in a pilot project for disarming Hezbollah and transferring territory to the Lebanese Army. Showing the areas on a map, he says one is completely outside the security zone, and the other is on the edge of the zone in an area the IDF no longer needs to hold.

Thus, he says, Israel is retaining the entire security zone area that it needs to protect northern Israel.