USA and Iran Have Signed Deal Electronically, Israel Refuse to Stop Attacks
The memorandum of understanding between the USA and Iran has been electronically signed, with Trump and Vice President Vance signing for the U.S. regime and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf signing for Iran. A formal ceremony is scheduled in Geneva on Friday.
The deal, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, extends the ceasefire for 60 days, reopens the Strait of Hormuz, begins nuclear negotiations, and, critically, Iran says Lebanon is covered by the agreement. Unlike a prior deal, the USA agrees Lebanon is covered by the agreement. Hezbollah has called the deal a “great achievement,” describing it as a prelude to “the full liberation of our land” and the return of displaced residents. Hezbollah has said it will abide by the agreement, and has not responded to Israeli attacks today.
The Israeli regime has immediately made clear it views the deal as not applying to its illegal occupation of southern Lebanon. Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon “despite all the existing pressures and those that will still come,” with Netanyahu and Katz presenting this as settled policy.
Israel’s National Security Minister has also refused withdrawal, insisting Israel “must not withdraw from any territory that our fighters have captured.”
It is clear that Israel plans on sabotaging any deal, and it has been clear for some time now. We are now at the stage where everyone is on the same terms officially, with the exception of Israel, and ball is in Israel’s court.
Hezbollah warned the deal must not resemble the 2024 ceasefire, during which Israel remained on Lebanese territory and continued airstrikes, saying it “will not accept any aggression that violates its country’s sovereignty or spills the blood of its people.” During the 2024 ceasefire, Hezbollah refrained from responding to Israeli attacks, while Israel violated the same agreement over 10,000 times.
A deal is signed, not for the first time, and now many of the same questions exist as before.
Iran’s conditions are met on paper, will they be matched in reality?
The Israeli regime declares itself exempt, occupies the land, and refuses to leave, will they successfully sabotage the deal?
For now Hezbollah has pledged to stop, and has stopped. Israel has pledged to stay, and are staying. The question of whether the MoU holds on the Lebanon front is, at this point, entirely a question about the Israeli regime’s conduct, and we can’t pretend we have a positive outlook on that front.