Iran’s Supreme Leader Ties US Peace Deal to Israel Ending Lebanon Attacks
Reporting based primarily on aljazeera.com.
Khamenei Links US-Iran Peace to End of Israeli Attacks
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said that peace between Tehran and the United States is contingent on Israel stopping its attacks against Lebanon. [1] Khamenei made the statement on X on Sunday. [1] Iran “has designated the preservation of Lebanon’s territorial integrity, and the absolute, unconditional termination of the Zionist regime’s aggression as the primary condition for any agreement to ending the imposed war against the aggressive US,” he wrote. [1] Khamenei’s intervention comes amid reports of a halt to attacks and renewed diplomacy between Tehran and Washington. [1] Washington and Tehran have paused attacks for a second day. [5]
Iran’s Conditions and Support for Hezbollah
Iran has consistently made an end to Israeli strikes on Lebanon a precondition for ending the war, a demand enshrined in the first clause of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in June. [1] That agreement has since collapsed amid a dispute over the Strait of Hormuz. [1] Khamenei also voiced his support for the Lebanese group Hezbollah, its former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and the people of southern Lebanon – the focal point of Israel’s attacks – in a series of posts. [1] “The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the defense of these oppressed yet powerful mujahideen [of Hezbollah] to be its strategic mandate,” Khamenei said. [1] Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of the former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. [1] He was selected as supreme leader after the US and Israel’s assassination of his father. [1]
Background of Lebanon Conflict
Lebanon was drawn into the conflict in March after Hezbollah launched strikes on northern Israel, citing both the killing of then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the war’s first day, February 28, and Israel’s near-daily bombardment of Lebanese territory – attacks it says violated a ceasefire that had ended an earlier round of hostilities in 2024. [1] On June 26, following the signing of the US-Iran MoU, Lebanon and Israel signed a US-mediated framework agreement stipulating a phased Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory, but without a timetable for the withdrawal. [1] Instead, it said Israel will withdraw from occupied territories once Hezbollah is disarmed. [1] Iran and Hezbollah have rejected the deal. [1]
Current Situation on the Ground
While the first phase is Israel’s withdrawal from three “pilot zones”, the Lebanese army said on Sunday that Israeli forces are obstructing the process, including by refusing to withdraw from designated territories. [1] As of Sunday, Israel was still bulldozing, shelling and conducting combing operations with machineguns across large areas of southern Lebanese territory it is occupying. [1] At least 4,329 people have been killed, while 37 Israeli soldiers and four Israeli civilians have died in the latest round of violence in Lebanon. [1] Israel violated a previous ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel more than 10,000 times, according to UN peacekeepers. [1]
What to watch next: Reports indicate continued diplomacy between Washington and Tehran alongside the pause in attacks.
