Can Lebanon Be Separated from Iran? The Dispute Dividing Trump and Netanyahu

By Elijah J. Magnier –

For months, the Trump administration attempted to achieve what previous American initiatives had repeatedly failed to deliver: separating Lebanon from the wider confrontation between Israel and Iran. The objective was practical and politically ambitious. If Lebanon could be stabilised through a negotiated arrangement, one of the most dangerous fronts in the regional conflict could be contained without requiring a comprehensive settlement with Tehran.The proposed formula was not particularly complicated.

Hezbollah would withdraw from south of the Litani River. The Lebanese Armed Forces would deploy throughout the area. The Lebanese government would assume responsibility for security and administration. Israel, in return, would gradually withdraw from Lebanese territory and military operations would cease. The arrangement would reinforce principles already embedded in international resolutions 

Yet this American effort collided with a very different Israeli calculation. Netanyahu’s government appeared unwilling to accept a framework based on reciprocal obligations. Israel wanted Lebanon and Hezbollah to implement their commitments first, while preserving Israeli freedom of action, continued military pressure and the right to decide later whether any withdrawal or concession would follow.