Top US official: Iran deal isn’t conditioned on Israel withdrawing from Lebanon, though the truce does cover Lebanon

A senior US official says that the MOU signed yesterday with Iran is not conditioned on Israel withdrawing from Lebanon.

However, the deal still envisions a ceasefire that covers Lebanon, as well as Iran, the US official says in a briefing with reporters.

“The deal is a ceasefire, but it will not be a one-way ceasefire. If Iran is not able to control Hezbollah, and if they attack Israeli positions or Israeli towns, Israel will have the right to defend themselves and respond,” the US official says.

The official touts the ongoing talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, which critics say can accomplish little given Hezbollah’s refusal to cooperate with them.

But the US official insists those talks, as well as the MOU, present an opportunity.

“The first point in the MOU talks about how Iran and its allies and America and its allies seek to end hostilities and hopefully have a final peace that hopefully will include a lot of these proxy groups,” the US official says. “Hopefully this will help us get the Israel-Lebanon normalization and peace done properly.”