(A ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of frozen Iranian assets must precede negotiations.)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made the same statement moments ago.
This means there will be no negotiations, and the Iranians will not sit down with mediators until these two demands are met.
Interestingly, Araqchi made this statement in a call with the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Raouf Sheibani, whom the Lebanese government of Nawaf Salam expelled a week ago. This indicates that Iran does not recognize Nawaf Salam's decision.
It seems the Iranians view this government as not being Lebanese in its national interest, but rather as being loyal to the enemies and posing a threat to the entire Shia community.
This is the most serious test yet for the Lebanese sectarian power-sharing system that has been in place since 1989, and a severe test for the Lebanese government, which is now under threat.
In contrast, Israel is seeking an agreement with the Lebanese state, bypassing the resistance, to accelerate the internal divisions and fragmentation within Lebanon, paving the way for something I will discuss at the end of this article.
As is its despicable custom, Israel began these anticipated negotiations with Nawaf Salam by bombing Lebanese state security forces in Nabatieh, resulting in the martyrdom of 13 members of the Lebanese State Security apparatus.
Netanyahu is telling Nawaf Salam, "I will negotiate with you in the way the Zionists know best: through blackmail, threats, and terrorist assassinations." Ironically, Nawaf Salam has not objected and says he will negotiate!
Currently, Iran is imposing security and military protection on Lebanon by including it in the ceasefire agreement, and Trump will likely acquiesce for fear of destabilizing the global economy.
While the Lebanese government rejects this protection and says it will negotiate with Israel in parallel and independently of Iran, the issues on the agenda for Netanyahu and Nawaf Salam's negotiations revolve primarily around disarming the resistance, which would inevitably lead to a military confrontation with the resistance axis forces as a whole.
The Lebanese situation appears to be heading towards a realignment.
Nawaf Salam's government will likely align itself militarily with Israel and the United States against the resistance axis forces. Trump and Netanyahu will probably seek to arm the Lebanese resistance's opponents within the country, relying on Christian militias, as was the case during the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990.
Trump will not leave the Lebanese situation without securing even a minor victory to market to the American public and compensate for his failures with Iran.
Will America's and Israel's allies and friends within Lebanon respond by engaging in a military confrontation with Hezbollah? Or will they respond as the Kurds did previously: "This is not our war"?
