The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration, including Vice President Vance, now supports Secretary of State Rubio's framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon. According to the WSJ editorial, administration sources say the US is no longer interested in forcing an Israeli withdrawal from all of southern Lebanon, as Iran demands. The report indicates that Vance agrees to an IDF presence in Lebanon during an interim period until a final nuclear deal with Iran is reached.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance, has aligned behind Secretary of State Marco Rubio's framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon, marking a shift in the internal debate over U.S. policy on the Lebanese front.
According to the WSJ editorial, administration sources say the U.S. is 'no longer interested in forcing Israel to withdraw from all of southern Lebanon into the hands of Iran's proxies,' as Iran has been demanding. Vance, whose aides had criticized Rubio's framework as inconsistent with his own U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, now supports the agreement, the report says. 'In this matter, the Vice President supports Mr. Rubio; nobody on Trump's team wants to force Israel to give up all of southern Lebanon,' the editorial states.
The significance lies in Vance's concession that during an interim period — until a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran is achieved — he has no objection to an IDF presence in Lebanon. This effectively walks back earlier expectations raised by Vance's MOU with Iran, which had reportedly envisioned an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon as part of a broader nuclear deal.
As The Zioneer has reported in recent weeks, the U.S. administration has been divided between Vance's pro-Iranian engagement approach and Rubio's insistence on Lebanese sovereignty and Hezbollah disarmament. The WSJ report suggests the administration is coalescing around a unified position ahead of further negotiations, leaving Iran's demands for a full Israeli withdrawal unmet for now.
The development also reverses earlier signals from some U.S. officials that Lebanon would not be part of the Iran deal, and represents the clearest indication yet that the Trump team's interim policy favors an IDF hold in southern Lebanon as a security buffer.
- DevelopingVP Vance: Deal does not mandate Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, self-defense right retained
- DevelopingUS sources tell Lebanese network: Lebanon not part of Iran deal; no condition for IDF withdrawal
- StrongTrump administration demands partial Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon
- DevelopingWSJ: US applies pressure on Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon
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