The US-Iran peace deal is contingent on Israel ending its attacks on Lebanon, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in comments posted on X on Sunday.
According to Khamenei, Iran has made the preservation of Lebanon’s territorial integrity and the “absolute, unconditional termination” of what he called Israeli aggression a prerequisite for any agreement to end the war with the United States. He voiced support for Hezbollah, its former leader Hassan Nasrallah, and residents of southern Lebanon, describing the defense of Hezbollah fighters as a strategic duty.
US-Iran peace deal tied to Lebanon ceasefire
Khamenei’s remarks came amid reports of a pause in attacks and renewed diplomatic contacts between Tehran and Washington. Iranian officials have insisted that Israel must halt strikes on Lebanon as a condition for ending hostilities with the United States, a demand set out in the first clause of a memorandum of understanding the two sides signed in June.
That agreement has since unraveled in a dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
Lebanon was pulled into the conflict in March after Hezbollah launched strikes on northern Israel. The group cited the killing of then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28, the first day of the US-Israel war on Iran, and Israel’s near-daily bombardment of Lebanese territory, which Hezbollah says violated a ceasefire that ended an earlier round of fighting in 2024.
Disputed withdrawal framework and ongoing clashes
On June 26, after the US-Iran memorandum was signed, Lebanon and Israel concluded a US-mediated framework outlining a phased Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese areas, but without a timetable. The framework states that withdrawal would follow the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Iran and Hezbollah, which was not part of the talks, have rejected the arrangement.
The first phase calls for an Israeli pullback from three “pilot zones.” The Lebanese army said on Sunday that Israeli forces are impeding the process, including by refusing to leave designated areas.
As of Sunday, Israeli units were still bulldozing, shelling, and conducting sweeping operations with machine guns across wide sections of southern Lebanese territory under their control.
At least 4,329 people have been killed in the latest round of violence in Lebanon, while 37 Israeli soldiers and four Israeli civilians have also died. United Nations peacekeepers have recorded more than 10,000 violations by Israel of a previous ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Leadership context and regional spillover in US-Iran peace deal
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, became Iran’s supreme leader following the assassination of his father by the United States and Israel, according to Iranian accounts. His latest statement on Lebanon comes as the war extends to Yemen, with reports of exchanges of fire between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
The reports of exchanges of fire between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia echo earlier clashes in the region, including incidents in which Houthis attack Saudi tankers as US strikes hit Iran again. The expanding conflict has drawn in multiple regional actors and heightened concerns in international organizations such as the United Nations.