Jerusalem: Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that the Israeli military will not withdraw from the “security zone” it currently holds in southern Lebanon, stating that troops will remain at all positions to protect northern Israeli settlements.
Katz said in a statement that there were no restrictions on Israeli soldiers operating in Lebanon to eliminate threats.
The Defence Minister said that after Hezbollah attacks on Israeli forces, the Israeli army responded strongly, eliminating several Hezbollah militants and damaging what he described as terror infrastructure.
“Preserving the lives of our soldiers and citizens is the highest and absolute priority,” Katz said.
Meanwhile, US and Iranian negotiators began talks on Sunday at the Buergenstock mountain resort in central Switzerland on implementing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by both sides to work towards a final agreement.
The US delegation, led by US Vice President JD Vance, and the Iranian delegation, headed by Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, along with mediators, arrived at Buergenstock earlier in the day, according to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was determined to pursue the implementation of Washington’s commitments under the recently signed MoU during the meeting in Switzerland.
In a post on social media platform X, Baghaei said the scheduled Iran-US meeting was focused on following up on the implementation of the MoU.
He said that under the agreement, the start of negotiations between Iran and the United States on a final deal depends on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, lifting the US naval blockade, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, issuing US waivers for Iran’s exports of crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, and releasing frozen Iranian assets.
Baghaei stressed that without implementing these provisions, particularly the condition related to ending the war on all fronts, it would not be possible to begin talks on a final agreement.
With IANS inputs