Israel Says It Will Not Leave Lebanon, Testing the US-Iran Understanding

As the United States and Iran moved toward a signed agreement, the Israeli government's posture shifted over the course of the day. The Russian outlet RBC reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had informed President Trump that Israel did not intend to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and did not regard itself as bound by the US-Iran understanding, and that Israeli forces struck a suburb of Beirut as reports of the deal circulated. By Monday, however, Netanyahu avoided direct criticism of the agreement and said the war's main objectives had been achieved, The Times of Israel reported. Israel has halted its attacks on Iran, and the memorandum of understanding extends a 60-day ceasefire that includes Lebanon, with the parties declaring a termination of military operations on all fronts.

Israeli analysts expressed concern about the terms. Writing in Globes, Meir Ben Shabbat, a former head of Israel's National Security Council, argued that including Lebanon in the framework benefits Tehran, granting the Iranian government "legitimacy, survivability, hope and resources for reconstruction." He added that the deal strengthens rather than weakens Iran's control over allied armed groups.

The Israeli daily Ynet reported that the four objectives Netanyahu had set out only days earlier are largely absent from the memorandum of understanding. Those goals included removing Iran's enriched material, dismantling its nuclear infrastructure, and limiting its missiles and its support for allied armed groups. The agreement also drew sharp domestic criticism: opposition leader Yair Lapid called it "one of the most shocking failures in Israel's foreign and security policy," and PBS reported that Israelis angry over the terms directed their frustration at the prime minister.

The differences in how each party describes the deal matter. Washington presents a completed peace, Netanyahu claims his war aims were met while his critics call the outcome a defeat, and Tehran treats the text as a vindication. For markets that had begun to expect lasting calm, those conflicting accounts show that the framework's durability is far from settled.