BEIRUT, June 29 (Reuters) - Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key ally of Hezbollah, on Monday slammed a U.S.-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel, warning it could lead to attempts to divide Lebanese and said it would not be implemented.
Israeli officials suggested the agreement would move forward in the coming days, but there were no immediate reports of any aspects of the deal being implemented on the ground. Israeli artillery shelled an area near the border in southern Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese state news agency, and the sound of a drone buzzed over Beirut, Reuters reporters said.
In comments to Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper, Berri described Iran-U.S. talks as the only realistic opportunity to secure Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and that any attempt to separate Lebanon from the U.S.-Iran track would prolong Israeli occupation.
Israel has occupied a swathe of southern Lebanon in a war with Hezbollah that began on March 2, when the group opened fire at Israel after Iran came under U.S.-Israeli attack.
The Lebanon war has been a central part of diplomacy towards ending the wider U.S.-Iran conflict. Tehran has insisted on a Lebanon ceasefire as part of its interim deal with Washington, while the U.S. has sponsored separate talks between the Lebanese and Israeli governments, which Beirut has attended despite Hezbollah's objections.
Israeli officials suggested the agreement would move forward in the coming days, but there were no immediate reports of any aspects of the deal being implemented on the ground. Israeli artillery shelled an area near the border in southern Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese state news agency, and the sound of a drone buzzed over Beirut, Reuters reporters said.
In comments to Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper, Berri described Iran-U.S. talks as the only realistic opportunity to secure Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and that any attempt to separate Lebanon from the U.S.-Iran track would prolong Israeli occupation.
Israel has occupied a swathe of southern Lebanon in a war with Hezbollah that began on March 2, when the group opened fire at Israel after Iran came under U.S.-Israeli attack.
The Lebanon war has been a central part of diplomacy towards ending the wider U.S.-Iran conflict. Tehran has insisted on a Lebanon ceasefire as part of its interim deal with Washington, while the U.S. has sponsored separate talks between the Lebanese and Israeli governments, which Beirut has attended despite Hezbollah's objections.
3 months ago
