00:00Israel Defies U.S.-Iran Deal, Vows to Maintain Troops in Southern Lebanon
00:05Jerusalem, June 15th. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that Israel will
00:12not withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, directly challenging a key provision of the
00:17newly announced U.S.-Iran peace agreement that calls for an immediate and permanent end to
00:22hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. Katz warned that if Iran attacks Israel in
00:28response to continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon, Israel will strike Iran with full
00:34force to demonstrate the difference in our capabilities. We will not compromise on Israel's
00:39security interests and the protection of our citizens, and we will not withdraw from the
00:44security zones, Katz said in a statement, adding that the military presence in Lebanon, Syria,
00:49and Gaza will continue without a time limit. The Defense Minister characterized Israel's
00:55seizure of territory south of Lebanon's Litani River as among the IDF's greatest achievements
01:01in the war of rebirth, and said Israel opposes withdrawal despite all the existing and future
01:07pressures. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz are leading a clear policy that determines that the
01:14IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza without any time limit to protect
01:21from there the border and Israeli communities against jihadist elements, Katz told the Times of Israel.
01:27Domestic criticism mounts. The U.S.-Iran agreement has triggered a wave of condemnation from across
01:34Israel's political spectrum, with both coalition partners and opposition figures accusing Prime
01:39Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of strategic failure. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Giver declared that
01:45Trump's agreement does not bind us, and that Israel is not a party to this agreement,
01:50which he said does not safeguard our security. Finance Minister Bezalel Smatrich called the deal
01:56bad for Israel, and insisted that Israel must not withdraw from a single inch of territory that our
02:02soldiers have captured. Opposition leader Yair Golan, head of the Democrats' party, delivered a scathing
02:09assessment, describing the deal as the culmination of years of failure, and arguing that Netanyahu has
02:15become the father of the greatest strategic failure in Israel's history. With a single signature,
02:22Golan wrote on X, Trump signed an agreement that pours billions into the Ayatollah's regime, leaves the
02:28nuclear infrastructure intact, leaves the ballistic threat unresolved, and provides a lifeline to the
02:34murderous regime in Tehran. Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the opposition Yashar party and a former Israeli military
02:41chief of staff, said Netanyahu had lost the confidence of both the Israeli public and the country's allies.
02:48Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a leading contender in Israel's upcoming elections,
02:53called the deal a dangerous turn for Israel's security, but insisted that Israel has a clear
02:59strategic plan to collapse the Iranian regime using combined diplomatic, intelligence, economic,
03:06technological, and military means. War aims unfulfilled. Critics of the agreement argue that
03:13Israel's primary war objectives remain unmet. The joint U.S.-Israeli campaign that began on February 28th
03:21targeted Iran's top leadership, nuclear installations, and ballistic missile sites,
03:26with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating the goals were to eliminate Iran's nuclear program,
03:31end its ballistic missile threat to Israel, and destroy its network of proxy armies,
03:37especially Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, the agreement leaves the Islamic regime in place,
03:43the ballistic missile threat intact, and Hezbollah weakened but still lethal. Even the status of Iran's
03:49nuclear program remains uncertain, as its stocks of Iran's nuclear program will be discussed only during
03:55the 60-day negotiation period following the signing. Iran's position, U.S. must ensure Israeli compliance.
04:04Iranian officials have made clear that Lebanon is an inseparable part of the agreement, and that Israel
04:10must withdraw from all occupied areas of southern Lebanon. America must live up to its responsibility to
04:16ensure the Zionist entity, Israel, will stop its war against Lebanon. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson
04:23Esmail Bagai told reporters in Tehran on Monday. Hezbollah, for its part, welcomed the framework
04:30agreement and congratulated Iran for securing a comprehensive ceasefire across all fronts,
04:35including Lebanon. The group called the achievement the result of the legendary steadfastness,
04:41exceptional resilience, and immense sacrifices made by the Iranian people. Hezbollah said the agreement
04:47should pave the way for the liberation of Lebanese territory, the return of prisoners, and the
04:52reconstruction of areas damaged during the conflict, and warned that it would not accept any violation
04:57of Lebanon's sovereignty. U.S. expects Israeli compliance. Vice President J.D. Vance suggested on
05:04U.S. television Monday that Israel has little choice but to go along with the deal, stating,
05:09we certainly expect the Israelis will be participants in this peace process. The agreement, which was mediated
05:16by Pakistan and is scheduled to be signed in Geneva on June 19th, includes a 60-day ceasefire period during
05:23which Iran's nuclear program will be discussed. Under the terms, U.S. maritime blockade measures
05:29against Iran will end from June 15th, and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, will cease
05:36immediately and permanently. The path ahead. Despite the announced agreement, Israeli forces
05:44continued operations in Lebanon on Sunday, with the IDF striking a Hezbollah command center in Beirut's
05:50southern Dahiya suburb and ordering evacuations of 24 Lebanese towns and villages. Lebanese President
05:57Joseph Aoun warned that the country is at a crossroads, having to choose between becoming a sovereign state that
06:03controls its weapons and respects the rule of law, or remaining under the influence of militias and
06:09instability. As veteran Middle East watcher Janice Stein, founding director of the Munk School of Global
06:15Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, told CBC, it's one of the really important areas
06:22that it is of ambiguity. Iran says Lebanon is a party. Israel says it is not.
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