Israel Prepares for Iranian Missile Salvo as U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Deal Is Announced in Geneva

Israel’s military said Sunday evening it was preparing for an incoming salvo of Iranian missiles, but the attack never came as plans for the United States and Iran to sign a more permanent ceasefire deal in Geneva were being announced hours later.

“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

NBC News reported that the diplomatic whiplash showed how Israel’s more focused fight against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon still had the power to disrupt broader American efforts to resolve its regionwide, monthslong war with Iran.

ABC News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a news conference that Israel’s “struggle is not over” while pledging to remain in “security zones” in Lebanon, adding, “With an agreement or without an agreement — Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

NBC News also said Iran’s threat to strike Israel Sunday came in response to Israeli airstrikes on a southern suburb of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, and that Israel said it was retaliating against Hezbollah attacks on the north of the country earlier that day.

Iran’s top diplomat said Tuesday that the tentative U.S.-Iran deal to end the war would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, a condition Israel has already rejected and that could sink the agreement.

AP reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” while a U.S. official told AP on condition of anonymity that the deal does not call for an Israeli withdrawal.

Al Jazeera

AP said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters Monday that Israel would remain in Lebanon “as long as necessary,” even as the negotiations have been plagued by disagreements and a prolonged but uneasy ceasefire has failed to develop into a permanent end to hostilities.

The Associated Press also said Switzerland’s foreign ministry announced the signing ceremony for the deal will take place Friday at the Bürgenstock resort near the city of Luzern, with the location proposed by Pakistani and Qatari mediators along with the U.S. and Iran.

As the ceasefire framework moved toward a ceremony, NBC News said Israeli politicians from across the spectrum were already slamming the deal despite its details remaining largely ill-defined, including Itamar Ben-Gvir writing, “Trump’s agreement does not bind us.”

“Toggle Play Iran says Israeli occupation in Lebanon would breach US deal Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the war with the US is over, warning that any continued Israeli occupation in Lebanon would be a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding between Tehran and Washington DC, which is set to be signed in person on Friday”

Al Jazeera

NBC News also quoted Ben-Gvir saying, “We must not compromise on anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah,” while the BBC described a fragile quiet in Lebanon after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire announcement, with families displaced from southern Lebanon beginning to return.

The BBC reported that a man called Abo Ali said his family “had returned, but with caution,” and that another man, Moustafa, returning to the village of Aadshit near Marjayoun said, “Israel can't be trusted,” as he surveyed heavily damaged buildings.

BBC said the U.S.-Iran agreement has not yet been made public and it is unclear how it will apply to Lebanon, with both Iran and Pakistan saying it included a ceasefire in the country and with “many remain doubtful that this could finally mean the end of the war.”