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A Jerusalem Post editorial published on June 18, has sharply criticized the emerging US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, warning that the framework risks empowering Hezbollah rather than dismantling its threat along Israel's northern border.
While acknowledging that the deal may reduce the immediate danger of a wider regional war, the editorial stressed that diplomacy cannot replace security. It argued that the distinction is no longer theoretical for residents of northern communities such as Metula, Kiryat Shmona, Manara, and Shlomi, where families continue to face empty streets, shuttered businesses, and disrupted schooling.
According to the editorial, the full text of the US-Iran understanding has not been officially published, and Israel was reportedly not permitted to review it before the expected signing—despite clauses said to touch directly on Israeli security. The reported draft calls for an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, alongside provisions on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, releasing sanctioned Iranian funds, and broader economic rehabilitation for Iran.
The central concern raised is that by placing Lebanon inside the Iran negotiating track, the framework effectively ties Hezbollah's fate to Tehran's leverage. The editorial noted that Iranian officials and Hezbollah's political allies are already treating an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as part of the next stage of US-Iran talks. This, it warned, turns Israel's northern border into a bargaining chip in a deal whose central parties are not the people living under Hezbollah's rockets.
Previous understandings among Israel, Lebanon, and the United States had reportedly conditioned a ceasefire on Hezbollah withdrawing from southern Lebanon and disarming, with the Lebanese Armed Forces deploying as the IDF withdrew. The editorial described this as the correct direction: strengthening the Lebanese state while separating Lebanon's future from Tehran's agenda.
The newspaper emphasized that Israel should not reject diplomacy outright, and that a sovereign Lebanon capable of enforcing its own territory south of the Litani would serve Israeli interests. However, it insisted that any arrangement must include enforceable benchmarks for Hezbollah's disarmament, a credible monitoring mechanism, and explicit recognition of Israel's right to act against imminent threats.
Northern residents, the editorial concluded, have paid too much for temporary quiet since October 7. They need protection, reconstruction, and accountability—not diplomatic language that Hezbollah has not implemented.