TEHRAN, June 29 — Iran and Lebanon have agreed to establish a “conflict control unit” involving the United States to monitor the implementation of a recently signed Iran-U.S. peace memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding Lebanon, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday.
Ghalibaf, in a phone call with his Lebanese counterpart Nabih Berri, said the unit was decided after Iran’s negotiating team highlighted violations by other parties during recent U.S.-Iran negotiations in Switzerland, according to Iran’s ICANA news agency.
An end to the war in Lebanon, the return of displaced Lebanese, and Israel’s withdrawal from occupied areas in Lebanon are important parts of Paragraph 1 of the MoU signed on June 18, Ghalibaf added.
Berri accused Israel of seeking to disregard Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity under the MoU, describing a U.S.-mediated framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel as “conspiracy and sedition.”
Also on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei urged the earliest possible establishment of a timetable for Israel’s “unconditional withdrawal” from occupied areas in Lebanon.
He said full implementation of Paragraph 1 of the MoU is an essential condition for reaching a final and lasting agreement to establish regional stability, read a ministry statement.
On Friday, Washington said Israel and Lebanon had reached a framework agreement for “lasting peace and security.”
Earlier on Sunday, Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israeli military activities continued across southern Lebanon, whereas Israeli sources said an Israeli military officer was killed and another soldier wounded in southern Lebanon by Hezbollah fire. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
