Hezbollah Chief Rejects U.S.-Israel-Lebanon Deal as
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- Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem condemned the U.S.-Israel-Lebanon framework agreement signed in Washington on June 27, 2026, after five rounds of talks, calling it 'humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty' and declaring it null and void.
- The agreement includes a pilot effort for Lebanese soldiers to take control of two areas currently occupied by Israel and a process aimed at disarming Hezbollah, with both countries expressing intent to 'conclusively end the conflict' per the U.S. State Department text.
- Qassem demanded instead that the Iranian-American memorandum of understanding be implemented, which includes a ceasefire in Lebanon and an end to the broader West Asian war — exposing a split with the Lebanese government, which had repeatedly tried to separate itself from Iran's track.
- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun countered Qassem's rejection, calling the agreement 'a first step' to restoring sovereignty, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said forces would remain in occupied Lebanese territory 'as long as Hezbollah has not disarmed.'
- Lebanon was drawn into the regional war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes; an April 17 ceasefire failed to stop the fighting, though violence has decreased since the U.S.-Iran memorandum last week.
- Hezbollah strongly rejects direct Lebanon-Israel negotiations, which have been ongoing since April, and Qassem accused Lebanese authorities of 'legitimising the continuation of the [Israeli] occupation for many years' that 'may even lead to the annexation of these lands.'
- Israel has responded to the deal's announcement with strikes on southern Lebanon, per cross-coverage headlines — underscoring that Netanyahu's condition of full Hezbollah disarmament before withdrawal remains unmet on the ground.
Why it matters: Hezbollah's public rejection exposes a direct collision between Iran's regional ceasefire framework — which insists Lebanon must be included — and the Lebanese government's parallel track of direct U.S.-brokered talks with Israel. With Netanyahu conditioning any troop withdrawal on Hezbollah's disarmament and Israel continuing strikes on southern Lebanon, the deal's pilot zones cannot advance while the armed group's leadership publicly disowns the process it is supposed to disarm under.
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