Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said that the IDF will only withdraw from Lebanon if Hezbollah is removed from pilot zones in the country’s south, during an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” broadcast on Sunday.
“If Hezbollah is going to stay there, we haven’t accomplished anything, and that’s why they’re called pilot zones,” said Leiter. “If it works, then we continue the withdrawal. If it doesn’t work, then we stay where we are.”
Leiter, one of the lead representatives on the matter in Washington, stressed that the withdrawal plan is not delayed and that the framework hinges on the Lebanese Armed Forces being “receptive” to the pilot zones.
“Hezbollah has no business in Lebanon,” he said. “As a matter of fact, Israel and Lebanon are on the same page. We want Hezbollah out for our security and for their sovereignty. We can withdraw the moment that Hezbollah is dismantled.”
Leiter referred to himself as “leading the negotiations on Israel’s behalf with Lebanon,” saying he knows “a thing or two about the trilateral agreement.”
He emphasized Israel’s refusal to return to a situation where the country is threatened by an Iranian terror proxy on its border firing rockets and planning attacks, “like Hamas did on October 7.”
He added that talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to continue in Rome, noting that his attendance will depend on plans for the funeral of the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on Saturday following health complications.
Iran has ‘no business in Lebanon’
When asked about the relationship between the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Israel’s negotiations with Lebanon, Leiter responded that the Islamic regime has “no business” in the region.
“What the agreement with Lebanon does is completely remove Iran from the paradigm,” said Leiter. “Iran is not to be involved in Lebanon.”
He noted that US President Donald Trump “has been consistent” throughout the war with Iran, saying that Israel will join the Americans in their current campaign against the Islamic Republic if requested to do so.
“We’re a partner, we’re an ally,” he said. “If the United States calls on us to rejoin kinetic activity against Iran, we’re going to be there for the United States.”
No ‘I told you so’ attitude toward US on Iran
Leiter pushed back against claims of an Israeli “I told you so” attitude toward the US following criticism of the MoU, saying that it’s “not the nature of our relationship.”
“We express our opinion,” said Leiter. “We saw flaws, but we also expressed hope that it would work.”
“If we have Iran that’s denuclearized, not building ballistic missiles, not supporting proxies around the region, just not being a menacing, mayhem-spreading regime, then we will have accomplished it without kinetic activity,” he added. “We have doubts about the possibility of that actually working, but all we do is express our opinion.”
