Iran's foreign minister warned on Tuesday that the continuing presence of Israeli forces in Lebanon would be a violation of the U.S.-Iran deal, as tensions persist in the Middle East.
Iran's Stance on Israeli Withdrawal
“Ending the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of the complete end of the war,” Abbas Araghchi said in a meeting with Iranian diplomats, according to AFP. Araghchi's comments followed a declaration by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the country's forces would remain in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria “for as long as necessary.”
Analysts have warned that the parallel conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah presents the biggest threat to the diplomatic push to end the conflict in the Middle East.
Upcoming U.S.-Iran Talks
Araghchi also said talks to finalize the deal with the U.S. will begin later this week after the official signing of an interim agreement in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday. “Likely on Friday, at a location to be determined… a new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States to reach a final agreement will begin,” Araghchi said, per AFP.
“In the final agreement, decisions will be made on the nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions.” Though details of the interim agreement have yet to be released, U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the full text will be published “pretty soon.”
Deal Signing at Swiss Resort
The U.S. and Iran will officially sign the deal at Switzerland’s mountainside Burgenstock resort on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed to AFP. Vice President JD Vance is expected to head the American delegation, while Iran will be represented by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The site, located near Lucerne in central Switzerland, is difficult to access and therefore easily secured. The resort previously hosted world leaders for the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in June 2024.
Trump Criticizes Israel
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was “not happy” with Israel over its weekend strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, which came as the U.S. was ironing out the final details of the interim peace deal with Iran. “I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah,” Trump said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, per CBS News. “They should have been able to do the job faster. It just goes on forever, and when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal, and that’s the deal with Iran.”
Specifically on the Israeli operations, Trump said, “You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses and they’re not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you.”
U.S. Won't Invest in Iran
Trump on Tuesday said that the U.S. will not invest money in Iran after a memorandum of understanding was agreed with Tehran, reopening the Strait of Hormuz. “We are not investing any money in Iran, by the way,” Trump told reporters at the G7 summit in France, dismissing reports that the U.S. was prepared to allow an investment fund for Iran in exchange for Tehran’s agreement to a final settlement. In a Truth Social post Monday night, the U.S. president referred to the reports as “Fake News.”
