TEHRAN – Israel is pressing ahead with its military operations against Lebanon, in clear disregard for a central provision of the recently signed memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump remotely signed the MoU on Wednesday. The opening paragraph stipulates that Israel must stop its strikes in Lebanon.
“The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war are signing this MoU to declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” the US committed in the first paragraph of the 14-point fledgling agreement.
Nonetheless, Israel has continued its strikes in Lebanon. Dozens of people were killed in the attacks on Saturday.
In response, Iran once again closed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, citing violations of the MoU by the United States and Israel.
“It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic,” the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which coordinates operations between the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Army, said.
It added in a statement that “this first step is a response to the enemy’s breach of promise, and if the aggression continues, further steps will be planned and taken to force the enemy to comply with its obligations.”
The statement said the closure comes in response to “the US’ bad faith and blatant breach of the first clause of the memorandum of understanding,” as well as persistent violations of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon by the “Zionist regime” and the “brutal killing and displacement” of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in the region. It also referred to Israel’s refusal to withdraw from southern Lebanon. The Israeli pullout from southern Lebanon is also among Iran’s conditions for reaching a permanent deal with the US.
In addition to halting Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the 14-point MoU calls for oil export waivers, the removal of the US naval blockade on Iran within 30 days, and the restoration of commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has already stated that continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, particularly in southern Beirut, are a red line that Israel is not allowed to cross. Earlier this month, Iran carried out strikes against Israel following the bombing of southern Beirut. Iran stopped the attacks after Trump vowed to push Israel to halt its air campaign in Lebanon.
Trump administration officials have publicly warned Israel against launching attacks against Hezbollah that might derail the MoU. Trump told NBC News in a phone call on Friday afternoon that he spoke with Israeli officials and urged them to agree to a ceasefire. Recent reports suggest Trump has clashed with Netanyahu over his continued war in Lebanon. Trump’s calls to restrain the Israeli war machine have drawn backlash in Israel, with Israeli politicians warning Netanyahu not to turn Israel into Washington’s “vassal state.” On Friday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said, “All of Lebanon should burn.”
Vice President JD Vance told reporters in the White House briefing room on Thursday that “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time, and he happens to be the head of state of the world’s superpower.” He added, “If I were in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally I have left in the entire world.”
Many experts believe tensions between the US and Israel are being made public in an effort to salvage a deal with Iran. Harrison Mann, a former US Army officer who served as an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency, told The Washington Post that the US has leverage over Israel.
“The US can cut off munitions, jet fuel and maintenance support, limiting the scope of any Israeli offensive, freeze critical intelligence sharing, or withdraw US forces currently deployed to protect Israeli airspace, raising the cost of any Israeli war,” Mann said.
However, the US remains unwilling to use this leverage over Israel, particularly at this critical juncture, to stop Israel’s war in Lebanon.
Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who has advised both Democratic and Republican administrations, told The Washington Post: “If you ask me, has an American president ever threatened to impose real costs and consequences on Israel in real time? The answer would be no.”
This suggests that Trump is merely launching a charm offensive while remaining reluctant to impose real costs on Israel to stop its strikes in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, citing current and former American officials, US intelligence agencies have warned the White House that Netanyahu is likely to take steps that will undermine Trump’s efforts to reach a lasting peace deal with Iran. The MoU will be followed by 60 days of talks, which are expected to lead to a permanent agreement aimed at ending US-Israeli aggression against Iran that began on February 28.
The new US intelligence report concludes that, ahead of elections this fall, Netanyahu’s political survival depends on showing his domestic audience that he will not withdraw troops from Lebanon and that he is intent on escalating fighting with Hezbollah, according to one US official familiar with the report.
Netanyahu, who faces corruption charges, considers a permanent state of war a lifeline that could keep him in power.
Trump, meanwhile, needs a permanent deal with Iran to extricate himself from what many experts describe as the quagmire of war with Iran. US and Israeli media have described the war on Iran as a strategic setback for the aggressors.
In a newly published report, The Guardian spoke to Israelis in a city near Tel Aviv regarding the regional conflict and its fallout. Many Israelis told the British outlet that the MoU negotiated by the US with Iran is a betrayal.
Commentators have condemned the tentative deal as a surrender and humiliation that was “even worse than Israel had feared,” according to the report.
Others emphasized the “abject failure” of Israel to achieve its war aims, including regime change, the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program, and the elimination of its ballistic missiles.
Respondents also acknowledged deep divisions inside Israel.
Lee Novick, 34, a doctor in Rehovot, said Israelis were more divided than ever. “Netanyahu has been trying to divide us and it has worked. This has been going on for years. And in the meantime, no one cares about the basic stuff – house prices, for example, or inflation,” she said.
Officials in opposition parties also said Jewish Israelis were more divided than ever. “Israelis are talking past each other. The common ground isn’t there,” one said.
The US and Israel were under the delusion that Iran would capitulate in a short period when they decided to launch war on Iran on February 28. Despite Trump’s claims that the war has destroyed Iran’s military capabilities, Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone attacks against Israel and US bases in the Persian Gulf region pushed Trump to accept a ceasefire on April 8.
Iran’s military preparedness also forced Trump to sign the MoU on Wednesday.
Iran has said it is open to talks, but its armed forces have their fingers on the trigger to deliver a crushing response to any aggression.
In the meantime, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could further worsen the economic pain suffered by the US as a result of the war with Iran.
In late April, Democratic leaders and several economists estimated that the actual cost of the war to the US economy and its 330 million people could amount to between $630 billion and $1 trillion. The war has led to rising fuel prices and inflation in the United States. The continuation of the conflict could also cost Trump and his supporters dearly ahead of the midterm congressional elections.
So, if Trump wants to reach a permanent deal with Iran, he must bring a halt to the Israeli war machine and remain committed to the MoU he signed on Wednesday.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
