The Israeli army bombarded the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday just as Iranian and US officials expressed optimism that a diplomatic deal was in the works, prompting accusations that the prime minister’s government Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to disrupt the negotiations.
The Israeli strikes reportedly targeted a five-story apartment building, killing at least three people, according to Lebanese authorities. Netanyahu said the bombing was a response to Hezbollah rocket attack in northern Israel.
The latest bombing of Beirut came hours after the US President Donald Trump said he expected a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to be signed as early as Sunday, potentially setting the stage for negotiations to end the illegal war that Trump launched in late February. Iranian officials have disputed the US president’s claim that the memorandum of understanding will be signed on Sunday, but Iran’s foreign minister said on Friday that a deal “has never been closer”.
The Associated Press reported on Sunday that Israel’s new attacks on Beirut “threatened to derail negotiations on an agreement, which in its current form is a deep disappointment to the Israeli government.”
“Last time Israel hit the suburbs of Beirut a week agoit triggered the most serious escalation of fighting between Iran and Israel since the tenuous ceasefire held on April 7,” the AP added.
Kenneth Roth, former CEO of Human rights Look, has written IN social media that “as a US-Iran deal looks like it may be closer, Israel predictably bombards the suburbs of Beirut, apparently hoping to sabotage the deal.”
“Why does Trump put up with this and continue to arm and fund such a deterrent?” Roth asked.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator and speaker of parliament, said Israel’s attacks show the US “either does not have the will or the ability to meet its obligations”.
“You cannot win concessions by giving (Israel) a green light,” he added. “The good cop, bad cop routine is outdated. If you don’t have the will or the ability to meet your commitments, then there’s no basis to talk about continuing down this path.”
While the MoU said to be under review has not been released in full, its general outlines have been reported in the media and disclosed by Iranian and US officials in recent days. Reuters reported Sunday that “a final draft of the memorandum of understanding with the US covered a range of issues, from Tehran’s nuclear work to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and US withdrawals for oil sanctionswith a final agreement to be discussed in 60 days after agreement by both parties.”
According to the memorandum of agreement, Iran would immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the US would end its illegal blockade of Iranian ports, according to Reuters. The United States will also agree to waive oil sanctions on Iran and release $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets, while Iran agrees to “maintain the current status of its nuclear program, refrain from further enriching uranium and expanding nuclear facilities.”
Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister of Iran, said in a television interview on Friday that the proposed 60-day ceasefire extension of the MOU would include Lebanon.
Axios reported that Netanyahu has “found himself in the dark” as US-Iran negotiations have progressed in recent days, “calling close allies The Trump administration to try to gather information.”
After Sunday’s attack in Beirut, Trump said Axios’ Barak Ravid that Netanyahu “has no bad judgment.”
“I conveyed this message to him — that I am very displeased with the attack in Beirut,” said Trump, whose administration has approved worth billions of dollars of selling arms to the Israeli government.
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Government Affairs, warned that “Israel will do more sabotage unless Trump imposes a cost on Israel.”
“Netanyahu knows exactly what he is doing and is judging that an attack on Beirut — rather than southern Lebanon — is exactly what is needed to derail the pending US-Iran deal,” Parsi argued.
