Iran’s top envoy says peace deal with the US dependent on Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon

Iran’s top diplomat has said a peace deal with the US would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, as concern grows that Israel could undermine diplomatic efforts to finally end the Middle East war, with Donald Trump even criticising his ally and war partner as irresponsible. “Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” said the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. A Hezbollah media relations official also said the group had received ⁠assurances from Iran that it ⁠would ⁠demand a ​withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon ⁠in its next phase of talks ⁠with the US. The comments came as Donald Trump, speaking at the G7 leaders summit in Geneva, rounded on the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , saying he had to behave “more responsibly in Lebanon”, adding that a recent Israeli bombing attack on Beirut was “vicious”. “Israel has been fighting Hezbollah for too long and too many people are being killed,” Trump said. “You don’t need to knock down an apartment house when you are looking for somebody because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they are not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you.” He suggested the Syrian government may do a better job in “dealing” with Hezbollah. While Damascus is run by former rebels who fought against Hezbollah during the Syrian civil war that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad, the government there now seeks stability. …