Al Jazeera

By Lyndal Rowlands and Zaid Sabah

    Iran has accused Israel of violating the truce in Lebanon 84 times since the memorandum of understanding was agreed to between Tehran and the US and warns of a “harsh response” if attacks continue.

    The warning comes after Israeli forces killed four people in southern Lebanon, and as US President Donald Trump slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he has to be “more responsible” in Lebanon.

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says any agreement with the US must include the release of frozen Iranian assets, sanctions relief and Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.

    Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claims to have cancelled the 1997 Hebron agreement, potentially stripping the Palestinian municipality of its authority over construction in the occupied West Bank’s largest city.

Iran’s relationship with its Gulf neighbours, which it attacked during the war, has been damaged. So, what has Iran won and lost in this conflict

Israeli forces shoot, wound Palestinian girl in occupied West Bank

    Israeli forces and settlers have stormed multiple towns in the occupied West Bank in recent hours, targeting civilians and damaging property, according to the Wafa news agency.

    Here are some of the reported incidents:

    Al-Mughayyir: A 15-year-old girl was hospitalised and is in stable condition after being shot in the shoulder by Israeli forces, who fired live rounds and gas canisters during an ongoing town raid, which also included access closures.

    Salfit: Israeli settlers attacked two vehicles belonging to residents on the road from al-Lubban Asharqiya, shattering their windows with stones.

    el-Bireh: Israeli forces raided the city, firing sound bombs, gas canisters, and live ammunition at residents while disrupting local traffic.

    Deir Abu Mishal: Israeli forces entered the village northwest of Ramallah while firing live ammunition, though no casualties were reported.

    As-Sawahira al-Sharqiya: Israeli forces raided and ransacked multiple family homes east of occupied East Jerusalem, assaulting the residents and confiscating their mobile phones before pulling out.

ANALYSIS

Israel’s attacks on Lebanon ‘could blow up the agreement’

    Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a former special assistant to US President Ronald Reagan, says Washington has to try to bring Israel under control to end its attacks on Lebanon.

    But that will not be easy, “given the influence that Israel has in the United States, as well as the relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu”, he told Al Jazeera.

    Trump appeared focused on ending attacks on Beirut, he said, while Iran is also looking at southern Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. And unless there is “real pressure on Israel”, Netanyahu can dismiss calls for the attacks on southern Lebanon to end.

    “The US has leverage,” Bandow said, noting Washington’s provision of both financial aid and military aid to Israel.

    “If Israel wants to conduct a war in Lebanon and elsewhere over an extended period of time, it needs that US support. But no US president has ever been willing to deny Israel for any period of time, weapons and money, and the Congress probably would not go along with it,” he said.

    “So, if Trump does not apply real pressure, if he can’t find a way to do so, it’s going to turn out to be theatrics. And the Iranians are not likely to find that satisfactory. It could blow up the agreement.”

Palestine calls for global action over Israel’s moves in Hebron

    Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, foreign minister of the State of Palestine, has called on the international community to act after Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, revoked the Palestinian planning authority in Hebron, including in holy sites.

    “Israel has no sovereignty over Hebron or any part of occupied Palestinian territory,” Shahin said in a post on X.

    “Smotrich’s move to strip Hebron Municipality of its authority, including over Ibrahimi Mosque, is a blatant violation of [international] law.”

    “These illegal measures are void. International community must act now.”

    As we’ve been reporting, Smotrich earlier said he was cancelling the Hebron agreement of 1997, and taking over planning and construction powers from the Palestinian municipality in the occupied West Bank’s largest city.

Oil prices edge higher

    Oil prices have ticked up in early trading as investors assessed whether the war on Iran will truly end and the Strait of Hormuz reopen, according to Reuters.

    Brent crude futures increased by 47 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $79.43 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) climbed 48 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $76.53 per barrel.

    Bipartisan congressional support for Israel has been more robust until this year, with fractures never before seen within the Democratic and Republican parties.

What does the US-Iran agreement entail

    Neither the US nor Iran have released the full text of the agreement, but Bloomberg News and Al Arabiya have published what they say is the 14-point draft.

    According to the US and Saudi outlets:

    The deal declares an “immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon”, with both sides undertaking that “from now on, they will not launch any hostile action against each other”.

    The US will lift the naval blockade on Iranian ports and “undertakes to withdraw its forces from the surrounding areas within 30 days after the final agreement”.

    Iran will “immediately take steps” to allow transit in the Strait of Hormuz.

    The US and its regional partners will create a “comprehensive plan” for the “rehabilitation and economic development” of Iran, and ensure financing of at least $300bn.

    The US commits to ending “all types of sanctions” on Iran, including those by the UN Security Council, “on a schedule to be agreed upon as part of the final agreement”.

    Iran “reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons” and the fate of its enriched material and other issues will be addressed in a final agreement.

    The US will issue waivers for Iranian oil exports until the date of the lifting of sanctions.

    The US undertakes, “in light of the progress of negotiations towards a final agreement”, to release frozen Iranian funds and assets.

Iran insists end to Lebanon war ‘part and parcel’ of any deal with US

By Tohid Asadi

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

    What we have been hearing constantly from the Iranian side, starting from the very early days of negotiations and even before that, is that a ceasefire across the region on all fronts, particularly in Lebanon, is part and parcel of any deal to be reached at the end of the day.

    It goes without saying that, particularly in the southern areas of Beirut, the continuation of attacks is going to be a certain red line for the Iranian side, but the extent to which Tehran is going to be patient in that regard is something that we have to wait and see.

    We heard from Foreign Minister Araghchi saying that the continuation of attacks by the Israelis or the continuation of their occupation is going to be considered a violation of the memorandum of understanding. Araghchi said that for the Iranians, a significant issue is to actually immediately and permanently practise the ceasefire across the region.

    He said that the reason behind that is the interconnected nature of the war in Lebanon and the war in Iran.

    We heard him the other day saying that Iran is not going to leave Lebanon alone, and that is also something that we heard from the conversation between the Iranian and Lebanese speakers of parliament, both calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the occupation in the Lebanese territories.

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Vance says Iran will benefit from agreement ‘if they behave’

    The US vice president has continued a string of media interviews about the US-Iran agreement, again appearing on Fox News to say Iran could experience “real benefits”, but only if “they fundamentally transform themselves”.

    “The agreement is actually very simple. It says one: Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon; two: the Straits of Hormuz are open; and number three: there are all of these benefits contemplated that the Iranians can get, if they behave,” Vance said.

    “If they stop funding terrorism, if they stop supporting the rebuilding of the nuclear arms programme, they actually can get some real benefits. If they don’t do any of that stuff, they don’t get anything,” he said.

    “The United States wins either way,” Vance added.

    However, the US and security analysts have repeatedly said the middle of the strait is potentially the site of thousands of sea mines.