A senior Hezbollah politician stated Friday that the organization believes Iran will demand Lebanon’s inclusion in any potential agreement with the United States, as expectations build for a possible deal between Tehran and Washington.
The Iran-backed group, which was established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, joined the regional confrontation supporting Tehran on March 2 by launching attacks against Israel, leading to Israeli military action that has resulted in thousands of Lebanese casualties.
Tehran’s officials have consistently demanded that any comprehensive agreement must include an end to hostilities in Lebanon.
“If the agreement happens, we have complete confidence in the Islamic Republic … we have confidence that it will insist on any agreement including the file of Lebanon,” Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah politician, said in an excerpt of a speech broadcast by the group’s al-Manar TV.
Israeli military forces have taken control of large areas in southern Lebanon, where Lebanon’s National News Agency documented additional Israeli air attacks across multiple towns and villages on Friday.
According to a Western source, a memorandum between the United States and Iran aimed at stopping the Gulf war could be executed as early as Sunday. The source indicated that final language details are still being worked out and Iran continues to maintain its stance that any deal must encompass ending the conflict in Lebanon.
Last week, Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said Hezbollah had “made great sacrifices” in the war and that Lebanon “will be an inseparable part of any agreement and any ceasefire”, in comments reported by the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Fighting in Lebanon has persisted despite multiple ceasefire declarations by the United States, which has served as an intermediary in discussions between Lebanese and Israeli officials.
Hezbollah is not participating in the negotiations and has called for the Lebanese government to withdraw from the diplomatic process.
Hezbollah turned down a U.S.-supported proposal announced last week that would require the organization to stop fighting and pull its forces back from southern Lebanon.
