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A White House official said Trump’s Iran deal does not include Israel’s conditional withdrawal from Lebanon amid its conflict with Hezbollah
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he and Donald Trump “don’t always see eye-to-eye” after the US president grew frustrated at Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Netanyahu was asked about his relationship with Trump during a press conference which came after the US president announced he had signed a peace agreement with Tehran.
Trump had earlier described his Israeli counterpart as a “very difficult guy” who should be “very thankful” to the US.
But Netanyahu added that they are partners, therefore they often agree and sometimes disagree.
Trump earlier said a peace deal with Iran is “all signed” and that the Strait of Hormuz is fully open to traffic, following weeks of tense negotiations during a fragile ceasefire.
Speaking shortly after arriving in Evian, France, for a G7 meeting, Trump also said the full text of the Iran deal would be released after a signing ceremony on Friday.
A senior administration official said shortly before Trump’s comments that Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon is not a condition of the deal.
If Iran is unable to control Hezbollah and prevent it from launching attacks on northern Israel, the Israeli army will have the right to respond, the official said.
Netanyahu has now been asked about his relationship with Trump, who earlier described him as a “very difficult guy” who should be “very thankful” to the US.
He says that he and Trump do not always see eye to eye, adding that they are partners who often agree and sometimes disagree.
Their relationship has been the subject of much scrutiny, raising questions about how much both presidents are able to influence the other’s decision making.
Trump, for his part, says that he calls all the shots.
But this is not the view of many, including our world affairs editor Sam Kiley, who says the relationship between the Israeli prime minister and Trump is “closer to that of an agent and his handler” – with Netanyahu the one in control.
We’re hearing from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is speaking after the announcement from Donald Trump that the US has signed a peace deal with Iran.
The Israeli military will remain in “security zones” for as long as is needed, he says.
The deal, it is reported, includes an end to hostilities in Lebanon – although US officials say Israeli withdrawal from the country is not a condition of the agreement.
Netanyahu says he has saved Israel from annihilation but that the struggle is not over, adding that it will continue to thwart threats in the region.
With or without a deal, he says, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.
Iran and the US are set to sign a memorandum of understanding to end the war in Switzerland on Friday.
Both sides have declared an immediate and permanent end to all military operations, and say the Strait of Hormuz will start to reopen this week.
Thorny issues like Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions on Iran will be conducted over the following 60 days. These issues were already the focal point of talks in February, before the US launched the war.
Strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump said the Strait will be reopened on Friday and he had ordered a lifting of the blockade on Iranian ports. He said the Strait would be ‘toll free’.
But Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that under the memorandum, marine traffic through the Strait would be regulated by Iran in coordination with Oman.
Nuclear weapons
Both sides have said that Iran agrees that it will neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons – a promise Tehran has been making repeatedly for decades.
A senior Iranian official said pending a final agreement Iran would freeze its nuclear activity, refraining from further uranium enrichment. They said the US had agreed Iran could dilute its stockpile of HEU under a future agreement.
Sanctions
The senior Iranian official said the US had agreed not to impose any new sanctions on Iran until a final deal was reached.
They also said the US had agreed to release $25 billion of Iran’s frozen assets, including via direct cash transfers, cooperation among regional countries, and financial credit lines.
Washington, in coordination with its regional allies, would prepare a reconstruction and development plan for Iran, to be negotiated and agreed with Tehran within 60 days, they added.
The memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran to end their four-month war is a very important step and will allow for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, French president Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.
“That’s a very important step for peace,” Macron said during a press meeting with US president Donald Trump during the G7 summit.
The Independent’s chief international correspondent Bel Trew writes:
There should be “no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon“, Donald Trump blasted on social media, annoyed that his increasingly troublesome ally had once again bombed Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.
He is worried it might scupper the Great Deal with Iran (as he likes to capitalise it). It is set to be signed in Switzerland on Friday, and will hopefully bring an end to a war that killed thousands of people, caused the worst disruption to energy supply lines in history and pushed the world towards a multi-front conflict.
The deal, which has been yo-yoing for months, will bring “peace to the region including Lebanon”, Trump doubled down on Truth Social.
“All sides should stand down…. Let’s not blow it!”
We’re just hearing from US president Donald Trump, who is speaking alongside his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit.
The Strait of Hormuz has been completely open since Friday, he said, claiming that oil is plummeting while stocks rise.
The president expressed hope that the US and Tehran would have a “good relationship”, and added that he may or may not be involved in a signing ceremony this coming Friday.
The text of the Iran deal will be released after Friday, he added.
Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon is not a condition of the deal being signed between Tehran and Washington, a senior White House official has said, reports our White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg.
If Iran is unable to control Hezbollah and prevent it from launching attacks on northern Israel, the Israeli army will have the right to respond, they said.
Iran begin their controversial World Cup campaign after months of uncertainty and turmoil as they face New Zealand in Los Angeles.
Iran’s clash with New Zealand kicks off at 2am BST (6pm PT) on Tuesday 16 June at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the anticipated Group G opener:
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