Iran Says Israeli Forces Must Leave Lebanon Under U.S. Deal, Threatens Violations

The United States and Iran reached an initial agreement early Monday that would extend their shaky ceasefire and lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while Vice President JD Vance said President Donald Trump could release the text of the memorandum of understanding as soon as Wednesday.

“Vance says Trump could release MOU text 'as early as tomorrow' Vice President JD Vance said that President Donald Trump could release the text of the memorandum of understanding as soon as Wednesday, but tried to downplay its release overall”

ABC News

Vance told Megyn Kelly’s radio show Tuesday that "The president said by the latest Friday, possibly as early as tomorrow, we're going to release the memorandum of understanding text," and he reiterated that any financial relief, including sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets, would be tied to Iran’s behavior.

ABC News

Vance said enrichment was "on the table" along with verification and inspections, and he added that "If they want the benefits of the bargain, enrichment is going to be on the table and more importantly verification and inspections is going to be on the table."

The CBS News live update framed the deal as requiring Israeli forces to leave Lebanon, while Iran’s foreign minister said any Israeli forces remaining in southern Lebanon, or any Israeli strikes on the country, would constitute a violation of the U.S.-Iran deal.

In Israel, Netanyahu’s position was that the agreement did not bind Israel, with the CBS News update noting Israeli officials said Monday that troops would stay in Lebanon, as "Trump's agreement does not bind us."

As the US-Iran memorandum of understanding moved toward a signing ceremony expected Friday in Switzerland, the Times of Israel reported that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon eased but did not halt entirely on Monday.

The IDF said Hezbollah fired several rockets at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and that the rockets fired at Israeli forces were intercepted by air defenses, while Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that a car was targeted in Kfar Tebnit, resulting in the death of the driver.

ABC7 New York

Netanyahu told reporters Monday that Israeli troops will remain in the buffer zone in southern Lebanon "for as long as necessary," and Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier in the day that Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon despite pressures.

On Tuesday, the BBC reported that the Iranian army threatened to retaliate against Israel after airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed four people, quoting the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters: "If the Zionist regime's army, the child-killer, does not put an end to its malice in south Lebanon, it should expect a harsh response".

The BBC added that Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem thanked the Iranian lead negotiator for help in what he called the "stoppage of Israeli-American aggression" on Lebanon, and it said Hezbollah’s letter expressed "deep gratitude" for Iran's efforts to "force the Israeli entity to halt immediately and permanently the military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon."

In Washington, the CBS News live update said the Senate on Tuesday narrowly rejected a war powers resolution on Iran in a 47 to 48 vote, with four Republicans—Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky—joining nearly all Democrats in favor.

Democrats demanded transparency on the memorandum of understanding, with CBS News quoting Sen. Chuck Schumer saying, "Now it's been two days since Trump claimed he had reached a peace deal, quote unquote, with Iran, but he still hasn't released any details at all of this so-called deal," and it said Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy called the Iran war a "dumpster fire."

The same CBS News update reported that Sen. Rick Scott opposed releasing frozen assets, saying, "I don't think there's anybody in Congress that's ever going to support giving money to them," and it said Vance echoed that the U.S. would not be giving Iran any money while opening the possibility for unfreezing assets.

In Iran’s Central Bank, Abdolnaser Hemmati told Iran's Tasnim News Agency on Tuesday that "The provisions of the memorandum of understanding have been drafted in such a way that the commitments of the American side regarding the release of assets are explicitly and enforceably specified," while the ABC News live updates emphasized that enrichment and verification and inspections were central to the bargain.

Looking ahead, the ABC News and PressTV framing tied the next phase to nuclear and sanctions outcomes, with PressTV saying the first phase focused on ending the war, the Strait of Hormuz, the release of Iranian frozen assets, and reconstruction issues, and that "In the final agreement, decisions will be made regarding nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions" after 60 days of negotiations.