Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri held phone talks Sunday, revealing Tehran's push to keep Lebanon under the 'Islamabad Agreement' umbrella amid fears of a separate U.S.-mediated deal — which Berri dubbed the 'Washington Agreement' — that could bypass Iran.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf spoke by phone Sunday evening with his Lebanese counterpart, Nabih Berri, in an effort to coordinate positions amid growing tension over the trajectory of post-war arrangements in Lebanon. According to the report, the conversation revealed deep concern in both Tehran and Beirut over a possible separate U.S.-mediated agreement between Lebanon and Israel — which Berri referred to as the 'Washington Agreement' — that would bypass the Iran-backed framework.
Ghalibaf sought to reassure Berri that Iran has not abandoned Lebanon, asserting that the Lebanese issue remains 'an integral part of the first article' of the Islamabad Agreement between Iran and the United States. He also claimed that a new monitoring mechanism — a 'Conflict Control Unit' including Iran, the U.S., and Lebanon — had been established to oversee implementation, including Israeli withdrawal and refugee return.
For his part, Berri thanked the Iranians for their diplomatic efforts in Switzerland but warned that Israel is effectively circumventing the Islamabad understandings and creating facts on the ground through other channels. His primary concern, according to the report, is the Washington Agreement — the parallel track that is being negotiated between Lebanon and Israel with American mediation, which could marginalize Iranian influence over the next phase in Lebanon.
The phone call comes as the dual-track diplomacy — the U.S.-Iran Islamabad framework and the separate U.S.-mediated Lebanon-Israel talks — intensifies, with both sides maneuvering for position in the post-war order. As The Zioneer has previously reported, hardline factions in Tehran have already protested what they see as excessive concessions to Washington, while Berri's Amal movement and Hezbollah face internal Lebanese pressure over the pace and terms of any deal.
3 developments
- StrongIranian parliament speaker threatens to end dialogue after Lebanon strike
- StrongIranian Speaker Ghalibaf says Zionist regime opposes negotiations, warns of 'annihilation' if no ceasefire
- StrongLebanon's Berri fiercely rejects Washington agreement with Israel, calls it 'illogical'
- DevelopingIranian Speaker Ghalibaf warns: 'We speak other languages far more fluently'
Source and signal
- Internal intake