US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that a deal between Israel and Hezbollah is on track to be signed, and the question is one of timing, not whether an agreement will be reached. He also noted that Israel has shown restraint in its response to Hezbollah, according to an Israeli security interview cited by Israel Hayom.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday evening that a deal between Israel and Hezbollah is a matter of 'when, not if,' framing it as a question of timing rather than the likelihood of an agreement. In remarks cited by Israel Hayom, Hegseth stated that Israel has shown restraint in its military response to Hezbollah.
This is the second time in less than 24 hours that Hegseth has addressed the diplomatic track with Hezbollah. At 17:37 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported his earlier assessment that talks were moving toward a signed agreement with an unclear timeline. The thread also includes a prior version at the same timestamp quoting Hegseth's comments to a Lebanese Parliament official via journalist Yaron Avraham. Across all versions, the source remains indirect — channeled through Israeli media outlets and a journalist report — without a direct, on-record statement from Hegseth or his office.
The Hegseth comments come amid a flurry of US administration signals about multiple Middle East tracks. As The Zioneer reported on June 13 at 06:39 Jerusalem, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said an Iran deal could be signed by early this week, and a senior US official said at 17:36 Jerusalem that day, 'We think we have a deal' on Iran. Hegseth himself has oscillated between diplomatic and military pressure: on June 10 at 23:54 Jerusalem he said, 'If we have to negotiate through bombs, we'll negotiate through bombs,' and hours later warned the US would 'hit Iran hard on American terms' (23:57 Jerusalem). The shift to a 'when, not if' framing on the Hezbollah track signals a parallel push to de-escalate the Lebanon front.
No direct confirmation from Hegseth's office or a joint US-Israeli statement has been published. The timeline for a signed agreement remains unspecified, and it is unclear whether the Hezbollah track is tied to the Iran negotiations or proceeding separately.
5 developments
- StrongRubio: US on track to sign Iran deal, Israeli strikes won't derail process
- DevelopingUS Treasury Secretary: Iran deal could be signed by early next week
- DevelopingHegseth: If we have to negotiate through bombs, we'll negotiate through bombs
- ConfirmedHegseth warns US will hit Iran hard on American terms
Source and signal
- Internal intake