Israel’s defence minister said Monday that Israel won’t withdraw from land seized in Lebanon, potentially challenging an interim deal that Iran and the United States reached hours earlier that includes opening the Strait of Hormuz and further extending a shaky ceasefire. Details of the deal were not immediately released and Iran signaled implementation would not start until the signing, which key mediator Pakistan said would take place Friday in Switzerland. But the memorandum of understanding over the war already faced hurdles. Israel’s continued hostilities with the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs Sunday, nearly derailed the negotiations. Israel joined the US in launching the war on Feb. 28. Read moreUS and Iran agree to memorandum of understanding, 'immediate' end to military operations In the first official Israeli comments after the announcement of the deal, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel won’t withdraw from land seized in Lebanon as the interim deal is pending. Katz said Israel plans to stay “indefinitely” in lands it holds in Lebanon, as well as Syria and the Gaza Strip. Iran has tied the interim deal over the war to halting Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Katz also threatened that if Iran attacks Israel over Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Israel will strike Iran with “great force”. Over the past two and a half years, Israel has taken control of areas in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria amounting to 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) of territory – an area that is slightly smaller than New York City.