Israel and Lebanon reached a framework agreement

Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement in Washington after days of negotiations in the United States.

The unclear deal is a victory for the Trump administration, which is itself engaged in complex negotiations with Iran following the extension of a ceasefire agreement between the two.

Iran – Hezbollah’s primary foreign backer – has repeatedly demanded that Lebanon be part of any negotiations with the US.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the agreement had begun to lay a framework for sustainable peace and security. “This is what these two nations deserve,” he said, “a first step.”

An earlier ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has still seen daily cross-border attacks, with both sides accusing each other of violating the agreement.

Washington has warned that continued tensions between Israel and Lebanon could undermine the US peace deal with Iran, which has vowed to end the war on “all fronts”, including in Lebanon.

Over the past several months, repeated Israeli attacks on targets in southern Lebanon have threatened to derail efforts to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump once had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has also publicly criticized Netanyahu and Israel’s behavior in the conflict.

But an Israel-Lebanon deal could prove difficult. Hezbollah is not part of Friday’s deal, and it is unclear whether it will agree to withdraw its fighters from the South Litani area in southern Lebanon.

Trump said that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah rocket attacks on its territories, and that they can “control Israel from attacking Lebanon.”

“They have a lot of respect for me,” Trump told Axios in an interview last week. “They will do as I say.”

Lebanon was embroiled in a war between the United States and Israel and Iran. On March 2, Hezbollah fired rockets in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran’s top leader. Israel responded with an air campaign against Lebanon and a ground invasion of the south.

A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on April 16 failed to end the fighting.

Israel and Lebanon as well Agreed in June To renew their fragile cease-fire agreement and to create several “pilot” security zones in Lebanon where Hezbollah operatives will be banned. But the war continued.