Iranian military forces issued a direct threat to Israel while the U.S.-Iran agreement has still not been signed, and also tried to pull Lebanon into the same diplomatic context. The message said, "If you do not withdraw from Lebanon voluntarily today, tomorrow you will be forced to flee in shame and humiliating defeat."
The threat came as the Israel Defense Forces rejected a Reuters report claiming Israeli troops had begun pulling out of southern Lebanon. Senior Israeli officials said the report was false and insisted, "No force moved anywhere," adding, "We have received no instruction from the political echelon at this stage."
A Lebanese security source also said officials in Beirut were unaware of any Israeli withdrawal. Reuters had quoted a U.S. State Department source saying the Lebanese Army should move into the area vacated by the IDF. The American source described this as "a real step that is an expression of goodwill toward the government of Lebanon."
According to that source, the Lebanese Army must enter the area, remove weapons and terror infrastructure, and make the model apply across all of southern Lebanon. The goal, the source said, is to allow displaced residents to return safely, enable reconstruction in the south, and restore Lebanon's full sovereignty.
