Lebanese officials and diplomatic sources describe the United States as Lebanon’s sole guarantor for securing an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon under a framework agreement signed in Washington on June 26, according to the sources who spoke to United Press International. The preliminary deal, reached after four days of marathon talks, marks the first direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in decades and opens what officials described as a long and difficult process whose outcome would depend on sustained U.S. commitment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the framework agreement as “a major achievement and a major blow to Iran,” according to UPI. He also said Israeli forces would remain in a security zone established in southern Lebanon — as in Gaza and southern Syria — until Hezbollah is disarmed.
The core of the agreement is Hezbollah’s disarmament and the dismantling of its military infrastructure, UPI reported. Implementation is set to begin with the Lebanese Army deploying in two pilot zones. A Lebanese official source told UPI that Israeli forces would pull out and the Lebanese Army would enter to verify whether any Hezbollah weapons or military infrastructure remain. “The Army will ensure that Hezbollah does not re-enter the areas with weapons or fire missiles,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The Americans will be the guarantor and will ensure Israel does not strike, while any party obstructing the deal on the ground will be identified.”
The source said there will be no direct coordination between Lebanon and Israel — only with U.S. forces, who will liaise with the Israelis. U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper visited Beirut on Monday, meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Army commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal to discuss implementation, the source said.
Lebanon made a calculated decision to pursue its own negotiating track, distancing itself from Iran and Hezbollah, UPI reported. The decision was driven by a devastating war that Israel has waged against Hezbollah since the Iran-backed group opened a front in support of Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023 and resumed fighting in solidarity with Iran on March 2. Israel has reoccupied parts of southern Lebanon, reduced more than 70 villages to ruins and inflicted what officials described as an unprecedented human and material toll, according to UPI.
Hezbollah, weakened by the war but regaining some strength, rejects the framework agreement and refuses to disarm, according to UPI. The group describes the deal as a capitulation to Israeli and U.S. demands and insists that Lebanon remains part of the U.S.-Iran negotiation track. For Hezbollah, the source told UPI, Iran is “the path to salvation.” The group is backed by House Speaker Nabih Berri, who also considers the agreement unimplementable, according to UPI.
Antoine Chedid, Lebanon’s former ambassador to the United States, told UPI the framework “is not perfect and has missed several points” but has put Lebanon on the right track. “Do we have any option other than these negotiations? Does Hezbollah have an alternative after dragging Lebanon into a losing war?” Chedid asked. He said the costs of the war were staggering, making negotiations “the only path,” with the U.S. role “a source of strength.”
Chedid described Netanyahu and other Israeli officials as “maneuvering to raise the ceiling of the negotiations to get more than they can” but predicted “there will be gradual withdrawals that will lead to their complete withdrawal” from Lebanon. He said that outcome would require the U.S. putting pressure on Israel and would depend on the Lebanese state assuming exclusive control over weapons.
On the question of Iran, Chedid dismissed Hezbollah’s calls to rely on Tehran. Involving Iran in Lebanon’s negotiations, he said, “would be a pretext for Israel to remain in southern Lebanon forever.” He said Iran, which has funded and armed Hezbollah for 40 years, “will hold on to the Hezbollah card in order to sell it at the proper time and for the right price” in its own negotiations with Washington.
The Lebanese official source told UPI that Lebanon would not object if “anything good” emerged from Iran’s separate negotiations with the U.S., such as consolidating the cease-fire. Iran has reportedly maintained that it will not finalize any agreement with Washington unless Lebanon is included in broader efforts to end regional conflicts and Israel fully withdraws from southern Lebanon, according to UPI. “We have no problem,” the source said. “The Americans are present in both tracks.”