Iran Speaker Boasts Hezbollah Contacts, Defying Beirut
Iran Speaker Boasts Hezbollah Contacts, Defying Beirut
The News
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf — also Tehran's top negotiator — says he is still in direct contact with Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, brushing aside Beirut's public demand that Iran stay out of its affairs.
"I had a close friendship and relationship with every martyr of Lebanon, and I am still in contact with the (Hezbollah) fighters on the front lines in Lebanon," Ghalibaf said, according to the Saudi channel Al Arabiya, which reported the remarks Saturday.
Al Arabiya also reported Ghalibaf insisting that both Hezbollah and Lebanon are covered by the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding — a claim that drags Washington directly into the fight over who speaks for southern Lebanon.
Timeline
A trilateral framework agreement is reached, with the United States as a party. It pairs the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, where Israel occupies several areas.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun tells CNN that Iran should keep out: "This is not your country, it is our country, and it is our duty and your job not to interfere in our country."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will not withdraw until Hezbollah is disarmed.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets US Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa and General Joseph Clearfield, who heads the US military coordination group for Lebanon. Salam's office says he pressed Israel to stop destruction operations, expand the pilot zones and set a clear timetable for withdrawal. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri meets the same US officials separately.
In a speech marking the anniversary of the 2006 war with Israel, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem says the framework "has not achieved any progress" and calls the pilot zones a "novelty that serves Israel's goals."
The IDF strikes the southern Lebanese village of Ansar, part of a continuing campaign against Hezbollah targets that Israel says follows ceasefire violations by the group.
Aoun condemns the "ongoing Israeli attacks" in a post from his office's X account, calling them a "violation of the Framework Agreement." Al Arabiya reports Ghalibaf's comments about Hezbollah. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tells Iranian outlet Shahrara News that Iran-US negotiations have not resumed, though messages are being exchanged through mediators Qatar and Pakistan.
Reactions
Hezbollah said the latest Israeli strike would be "met accordingly."
Qassem went after Lebanon's own government, accusing officials of putting the army under "undue pressure" by implementing an agreement he says does not work. "How can you accept this ongoing humiliation of the Lebanese army, exposing it to bombardment and Israeli pressures, instead of acting as its protectors?" he said. He challenged officials to "name a single achievement from the seven rounds of negotiations," and noted that Israel has kept striking homes and demolishing tunnels inside Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh — the first designated pilot zone — despite the Lebanese army's presence there.
Berri said Israel "has not stopped its violations and attacks on Lebanon," citing village demolitions, bulldozed farmland, forest fires and damage to heritage sites. "The key to stability remains forcing Israel to stop its war and withdraw to the international border," he said.
Ambassador Issa called the talks with Lebanese leaders "positive" and put the burden on Hezbollah: "If they give up their weapons, everything will stop."
Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos emphasized the country's commitment to continued negotiations with Israel — a line Al Arabiya contrasted directly with Qassem's.
What's Next
The next round of Israel-Lebanon talks is expected to resume in early September. Issa gave no date when he spoke to reporters.
The core deadlock is unchanged: Katz says Israeli forces stay until Hezbollah disarms, Salam wants a fixed withdrawal timetable first, and Qassem says the seven rounds so far have produced nothing. Separately, Araghchi's comments suggest no imminent restart of US-Iran talks, even as Ghalibaf claims Lebanon is already inside the US-Iran understanding.
More
Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed 4,335 people, wounded 12,277 and displaced more than a million.
Ghalibaf's dual role is what makes his comment more than rhetoric: he is both the speaker of Iran's parliament and the man Tehran has fronting its negotiations, including the messaging channel that runs through Qatar and Pakistan.
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