TEL AVIV — Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that Washington bears the responsibility for implementing the Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding with Tehran, calling for the Israeli attacks on Lebanon to stop, as Israel said its forces will not pull out of areas it occupies in Lebanon..US President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that a peace agreement with Iran had been completed. The deal includes halting war on all fronts, including Lebanon, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the end of a US naval blockade on Iran.Despite the announcement, the Israeli army continued to launch airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Monday.Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday that the Israeli army will remain in the areas it occupied in southern Lebanon as well as in Syria, and Gaza despite a peace agreement between the US and Iran.Araghchi made the remarks in separate phone calls with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA.Araghchi and his counterparts also stressed the need to maintain diplomatic efforts to achieve stability and security in the region, the outlet added.Israel opposes the withdrawal of its forces from Lebanon "despite all current and future pressures," Katz said in a statement.He added that areas occupied by Israel in southern Lebanon would be “cleared” of the local population.Katz also claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made this position clear to Trump and other senior American officials."I also clearly conveyed this to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth," Katz added.Netanyahu has not said anything publicly about the memorandum of understanding that others in his government have criticized as “bad for Israel and the entire free world” and “does not ensure our security.”The Israeli prime minister finds himself once again trapped between Trump on one side and his political base on the other. Trump has made clear that he sees the war with Iran as a thing of the past, and that includes the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.Trump demanded that Israel stop attacking anywhere in Lebanon and said Hezbollah should stop attacking Israel. He dismissed Hezbollah projectiles that crossed into northern Israel on Sunday as “very small and meaningless.”As Netanyahu’s coalition demanded a harsh response to the Hezbollah fire, Trump told him to stand down.The Israeli defense minister warned that Israel would attack Iran “with all our might” if Tehran launched strikes against Israel because of developments in Lebanon.Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also criticized the US-Iran deal, claiming that “Trump’s agreement does not bind" Tel Aviv.