Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a recorded response to the framework agreement with Lebanon, calling it 'a major blow to Iran' and stressing that Israel retains the original security zone. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio formally announced the framework at a ceremony, saying it is 'the first step and the hardest one' toward peace. i24NEWS reports.
The announcement from Prime Minister Netanyahu and Secretary Rubio on Friday evening marks the formal culmination of a framework agreement between Israel, Lebanon, and the United States, following an intensive four-day negotiation period in Washington.
Netanyahu's recorded reaction, reported by i24NEWS, described the agreement as 'a major blow to Iran' — building on earlier remarks from the Prime Minister's Office on June 12 in which Netanyahu expressed appreciation for U.S. commitments on enrichment, missiles, and proxy terror. He stressed that the IDF will remain in the original security zone, a position The Zioneer has tracked since Netanyahu's June 21 statement at a memorial for his brother, where he vowed Israel would stay in the buffer zone as long as needed.
Rubio, who opened the signing ceremony, called the accord 'the first step and the hardest one' on the path to peace, echoing his earlier characterization of the framework as 'just the beginning' (The Zioneer, 21:22 Jerusalem). The agreement includes pilot areas for Lebanese army deployment, while maintaining the IDF's security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed, as The Zioneer reported at 20:57.
As of this bulletin, no official text of the agreement has been released; Netanyahu called it 'a great achievement for Israel' but provided no additional specifics. The framework excludes Iran from the security arrangement.
2 developments
- DevelopingSenior Israeli official calls US-Iran deal a 'great achievement'; Rubio calls it a 'first and difficult step'
- DevelopingTrump says Netanyahu is a 'very tough man'; Iran claims ceasefire includes Lebanon
- DevelopingRubio says framework deal will let Israel return to its borders when the threat is removed
- DevelopingNetanyahu responds to reports of emerging US-Iran deal
Source and signal
- Internal intake