The signing of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran marks the beginning of a new regional order. While the Gulf states are returning to dialogue with Iran and focusing on economic stability, Israel is still talking about continuing the struggle. Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Doha have internalized that Tehran remains a major player in the region, and that it is better to learn to live alongside it than to try to subdue it.
One of the Israel Defense Forces' most significant operations in southern Lebanon is underway in the village of Tebnit, against several dozen Hezbollah terrorists holed up in an underground compound belonging to the Badr Unit. The military describes the infrastructure found there as the unit’s “nerve center” and exceptional in scope. The IDF believes Hezbollah’s pressure to halt the operation stems from concern over a strike on one of its main power centers.
Jerusalem was not surprised by the self-styled master negotiator’s capitulation itself, only by its scope.
According to the The Wall Street Journal, US intelligence compiled a report submitted to the administration warning that the political pressure on Netanyahu ahead of the Israeli general elections could lead him to escalate the war in Lebanon. One of the officials involved in compiling the report said that Netanyahu’s political future depends on convincing the Israeli public that he is determined to fight Hezbollah.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said "there will be no lifting of UN sanctions against Iran without France's consent," adding that Paris would be "inevitably" involved in the nuclear negotiations. He also demanded that any new agreement address Iran's ballistic missile program and the regime's support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
