Why Lebanon may make or break the Iran-US deal

Beirut, Lebanon – The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran leaves no room for doubt, declaring “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon,” between the two countries and their allies. “The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” the interim agreement signed on Wednesday added. Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list Yet Israel appears to either have not received the memo or to be deliberately ignoring it. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have continued in the days since the MoU’s signing, bringing the death toll since the start of Israel’s air and ground offensive on March 2 to more than 4,000. These deadly strikes led to Iran postponing talks with the US that had been planned for Friday in Switzerland. The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Lebanon’s government have both demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory although the former has said that should come by linking Lebanon to the Iran negotiations while the latter prefers direct talks with Israel. “Lebanon is at the beginning of the agreement because the Iranians want to bring home that Lebanon’s territorial integrity is essential to the agreement, the success of the [MoU],” said Michael Young, a Lebanon expert at the Carnegie Middle East Center. …