A major diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran has cleared the way to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, but regional stability remains highly volatile as Israel flatly refuses to pull its troops from southern Lebanon.
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the two nations reached a memorandum of understanding, calling it a “great deal” that will bring “peace and security” to the entire region. The agreement, set to be signed this Friday, follows months of heavy conflict that began on February 28 with massive joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iranian targets and a subsequent maritime blockade. Trump noted that oil will begin flowing through the Strait of Hormuz immediately after the paperwork is finalized.
While the deal aims to de-escalate the broader war, it has laid bare a sharp divide between Washington and its closest regional ally. On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir made it clear that the agreement will not alter Israel’s military footprint on the ground.
“Israel is not subordinate to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign state,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement. “We must not withdraw from any territory that our fighters have occupied and cleared of terrorist infrastructure.”
Katz echoed this hardline stance, stating that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are enforcing “a clear policy” to keep the Israel Defense Forces in newly established security zones “in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza indefinitely.” According to Katz, these areas will be cleared of local residents, and all infrastructure serving as terrorist outposts will be destroyed. Netanyahu himself has not yet publicly commented on the U.S.-Iran understanding.
The diplomatic breakthrough is already setting logistics in motion across Europe and Asia. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told parliament on Monday that Pakistan will host the formal signing ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday. Sharif praised his country’s lead negotiator, Field Marshal Asim Munir, acknowledging there were “moments when it seemed that it’s over,” but that Munir “did not give up.”
The maritime community also welcomed the news. Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, called the agreement “an important step toward restoring safety in this vital maritime corridor for seafarers and ships.” He added that the deal allows the organization to move forward with plans to evacuate thousands of seafarers currently stranded in the area, though he cautioned that the process “will require time to ensure that all necessary safety and security guarantees are in place.”
On the ground in Lebanon, the announcement triggered immediate movement alongside official panic. State media reported that displaced families immediately began heading south, prompting local emergency crews to start clearing blocked roads in the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts.
However, the Lebanese Armed Forces issued an urgent warning on social media, telling residents to postpone their return to southern border towns to “protect their safety from the danger of Israeli violations and attacks” and to await further military instructions.
READ: Peace At Last: Trump Inks Iran Deal As Vance Thanks Drivers For Footing The Gas Bill
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