White House: Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon conditional on Hezbollah's disarmament
Ahead of the meeting between the US President and the Israeli Prime Minister, administration officials clarified that the IDF's withdrawal from Lebanon is contingent upon the dismantling of Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure. Meanwhile, Donald Trump outlined his positions on Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, which will be discussed in the Oval Office.
A day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, senior US administration officials told Walla that "the framework between Israel and Lebanon establishes a clear deal based on conditions: Israel will redeploy its forces from Lebanese territory in exchange for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the restoration of the sovereignty of the State of Lebanon over its entire territory."
They emphasized that the implementation of these understandings aims to achieve three goals: the restoration of Lebanese sovereignty, the dismantling of Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure, and the ability for Israel to return to safe borders after the security threat is removed. According to the officials, a pilot project began last week, including the redeployment of IDF forces in the Zoutar al-Gharbiya area. This is a direct result of the talks held in Rome about ten days ago, and the United States will continue to work with both sides until the framework is fully implemented.
Regarding the issue of withdrawal from Syria, which has been addressed by Trump and Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara, the officials ignored the question. This message comes just hours before Netanyahu's visit to Washington, against the backdrop of the campaign against Iran and the intelligence Netanyahu is expected to present to Trump regarding Iran's progress toward nuclear weapons, despite the damage it suffered in the war.
Regarding American contacts with Tehran, Netanyahu is expected to urge Trump to take action. "If we do not reach an agreement with Iran, we will go back to doing what we were doing until two days ago," sources noted. However, the assessment is that Netanyahu's influence on Trump is not what it was in February, partly due to pressure from Trump's inner circle, criticism from the American right, and rising fuel prices in the United States.
In a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump described his relationship with Netanyahu as close, despite "small differences." He added that Iran has taken a heavy hit over the last two weeks and that it was Iran that approached the United States with a request to resume talks. When asked if Netanyahu prefers that the US strive for an agreement or continue attacks, Trump refrained from a direct answer: "Bibi has been great. We'll see how this all develops."
Trump also addressed Turkey, noting that "Turkey has been a great ally" and has done "good work in Syria." He emphasized that no one will tell him what to sell or not sell, adding that Erdogan "is not a big fan of Bibi and Israel." Regarding Saudi Arabia and the Abraham Accords, Trump was brief: "We didn't talk about that."
In conclusion, Trump claimed that Iran is now at eight percent of its strength from four months ago, and that without American intervention, Israel would have faced an existential threat. The meeting between Netanyahu and Trump is scheduled for tomorrow at 6:00 PM (Israel time) and is expected to be closed to the media.
