Lebanon · 07 September, 2026 · 3 min read
Joseph Aoun Urges Full Implementation of US Framework Deal With Israel in Athens
Aoun urged full implementation of the US-sponsored framework deal, applied equally by both sides. During the Athens visit, he called for US and international help to stop Israeli attacks.
Whether to emphasise US stop-attacks pressure or diplomacy and implementation.
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Free Malaysia Today and Yeni Safak foreground diplomacy and equal deal implementation. Naharnet foregrounds urgent US action to stop violations.
Aoun presses for deal
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged full, impartial implementation of a US-sponsored framework agreement with Israel, saying it should be carried out "by both sides, without selectivity."
“"by both sides, without selectivity."”
Aoun made the remarks after meeting his Greek counterpart Konstantinos Tasoulas in Athens during an official visit, and he said, "Lebanon and its people are tired of wars, and the goal of negotiations with Israel is to end the state of hostility."
The framework agreement signed in June calls for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory and the deployment of the Lebanese military into vacated areas, with disarmament of armed groups including Hezbollah.
The backdrop to the diplomacy is that since early March, Israel has carried out extensive attacks on southern Lebanon claiming it targets Hezbollah, while Hezbollah has responded by attacking Israeli forces deployed in southern Lebanon, effectively ending a ceasefire that had been in place since late 2024.
Aoun also expressed Beirut's gratitude to Athens for political, humanitarian and military support and said Lebanon intends to develop relations with Greece "at all levels in a way that serves their common interests."
Berri rejects talks
Speaker Nabih Berri again lashed out at the framework agreement signed in June between Lebanon and Israel, warning that the current stage "does not grant anyone the right to act on any of the sovereign titles" under any pretext.
In an annual speech marking the anniversary of Imam Moussa al-Sadr’s disappearance, Berri said that after seven rounds of negotiations, "the occupied area has expanded and Israel is continuing its war," and he said Lebanon exercised its democratic right in rejecting the framework agreement.
Berri said Israel is "not going after Hezbollah and its weapons or the Amal Movement or the Shiite community," but is seeking "strife," and he warned against negotiating with the Israeli enemy "under fire."
Aoun, by contrast, told a meeting in Athens with Greek President Konstantinos Tassoulas that the framework agreement "cannot be implemented unilaterally. It needs to be implemented on both sides," and he requested Greece’s assistance "as much as possible" to help Lebanon.
The dispute is playing out while Lebanon seeks renewal of the mandate of the Unifil peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, whose mandate expires at the end of this year, as the US and Israel oppose renewal.
Nabatieh strikes test ceasefire
Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday killed four people, with Lebanon’s Health Ministry reporting two deaths in Nabatieh al-Fawqa and two women killed in Arab Salim, and it said the provisional toll included twenty wounded.
“Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced on Sunday, 6 September, the deaths of four people”
The Israeli military said it was retaliating against the launch of two drones by Hezbollah targeting its soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon, describing the drone attack as a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire, while it said one of the two drones was intercepted by Israeli forces before reaching its target.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun renewed condemnation of the Nabatieh attacks, saying the targeting constitutes a "serious escalation" reaching Lebanese state institutions and public service facilities, including a hospital and health centers.
In the same context, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported that after an Israeli evacuation warning for residents near a Hezbollah-linked building in Arab Salim, "enemy warplanes launched a strike on another house, destroying it," killing two women.
The violence comes as Lebanon says Israel has killed more than 4,300 people since March and as the framework agreement signed in June is meant to support a gradual Israeli withdrawal and Lebanese army deployment, with new talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials expected this month though no date has been announced.