People wave the flags of Iran and Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group during a street festival celebrating the Muslim Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir, the anniversary of Prophet Muhammad naming his successor, Ali, who is revered as the first Shiite Imam, in Tehran, June 4. Yonhap
DUBAI — Iran reaffirmed support for its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and demanded that Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, underscoring the difficulty of striking an interim deal to end the broader conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Iran has made a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington to resolve the regional conflict, now in its fourth month, and restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted at the start of March, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran. Hezbollah said its actions were in support of Tehran.
"This war will end only when it ends in Lebanon as well," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Lebanese TV station Al Mayadeen late Thursday.
"The end of the war on Lebanon must be accompanied by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they have occupied," he said. The comments came after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected a U.S.-brokered pact between Israel and the Lebanese government to halt the fighting in Lebanon. The deal did not include an Israeli withdrawal and Hezbollah had not been party to the negotiations. Israel has kept up strikes in southern Lebanon, and said its forces would not withdraw or halt operations in the country amid increasing friction with the U.S.
