Khamenei ties US-Iran peace deal to Israel ending attacks on Lebanon

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said any peace arrangement between Tehran and Washington depends on Israel halting its military actions in Lebanon. In a Sunday post on X, Khamenei described Lebanon’s territorial integrity and an unconditional end to Israeli attacks as Iran’s main requirement for an agreement to stop what he called the war imposed by the United States.

According to Al Jazeera, Khamenei also used several posts to express backing for Hezbollah, its former leader Hassan Nasrallah, and residents of southern Lebanon, where Israeli operations have been concentrated. His comments came as reports pointed to a pause in attacks and renewed diplomatic activity between the United States and Iran.

The outlet said Iran had already made an end to Israeli strikes on Lebanon a precondition in a June memorandum of understanding with the United States, but that deal later broke down over a dispute involving the Strait of Hormuz. Al Jazeera also reported that Lebanon and Israel signed a US-mediated framework agreement on June 26 that envisioned Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese areas, though without a timetable and linked to Hezbollah’s disarmament. Iran and Hezbollah rejected that framework.

Al Jazeera cited the Lebanese army as saying Israeli forces were obstructing the first phase of withdrawal from three “pilot zones”. The report said Israeli operations were continuing in parts of southern Lebanon and listed heavy casualties in the latest round of violence, including 4,329 people killed, 37 Israeli soldiers and four Israeli civilians dead. The developments matter because the Lebanon front is now central to any potential US-Iran de-escalation.