The Israeli Air Force said it struck and destroyed a launcher used to fire rockets at an IDF force in southern Lebanon. The report came as Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem published a letter of thanks on Tuesday to Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf for his efforts to make Israel halt military activity immediately and permanently in all arenas, including Lebanon.
Ghalibaf later spoke by phone with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri about developments tied to the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran. The talks deepened skepticism among Hezbollah's opponents in Lebanon, who doubt Iran can compel an Israeli withdrawal. The Lebanese Forces' "Strong Republic" bloc said any U.S.-Iran deal is only between those two countries, and that the ceasefire included in the understandings is regional and does not change conditions in Lebanon, because, it said, "the one fighting in Lebanon is Israel, not the United States."
The bloc accused Tehran of giving Hezbollah "verbal support" so it can keep fighting for Iranian interests. It said the solution is not only a ceasefire, but a complete end to the cycle of wars in Lebanon, including disarming armed groups outside state control, above all Hezbollah. The Kataeb party also said Lebanon is bound only by agreements in which the Lebanese state is directly involved through its official institutions and authorized negotiating team in Washington. It called for an Israeli withdrawal, an end to attacks, and implementation of government decisions to concentrate all weapons in state hands and restore full security control to the state.
A political source told the Lebanese daily Nidaa Al-Watan that President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam are under pressure to abandon the negotiating track on claims the American-Iranian deal may bring a ceasefire in Lebanon. The source said they insist on continuing direct negotiations because they believe there is no other way for Lebanon to achieve a full, inclusive and lasting peace. The source added that Lebanon has already made significant progress in freeing itself from Iranian control over decision-making and will not go backward. A source in the Shiite duo, Hezbollah and Amal, told the Saudi paper Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah received a message from Iran saying that after the deal is signed on Friday, Israel is expected to begin a gradual withdrawal from Lebanese territory it controls and complete it before the Iran-U.S. nuclear agreement is signed, within the 60-day period set for that purpose.
