"We established a security zone in Lebanon. And we shall keep it as long as is necessary to protect our people,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday evening as talks between the United States and Iran opened in Switzerland, while Tehran reported they had been “halted due to Trump’s threat.” Netanyahu added at the JNS International Policy Summit that “no matter what happens in the talks, with an agreement or without an agreement, Iran will never have nuclear weapons as long as I am prime minister of Israel.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the JNS International Policy Summit
(Video: JNS TV)
The working assumption in Jerusalem is that there is no viability for a deal between the countries because the gaps are too wide. However, Israel does not intend to interfere. Israel was not surprised by the exchange of threats between the U.S. president and the Iranians, but officials in Jerusalem do not believe it will cause the talks to collapse because Iran has too much to lose.
Israel is not willing to carry out withdrawals from Lebanon due to American pressure. However, there is preparation for possible changes and adjustments to the Israel Defense Forces’ presence in southern Lebanon, not as a concession to pressure but in order not to endanger troops. In closed-door discussions, Netanyahu said Israel will preserve operational freedom in southern Lebanon to protect the security of northern residents and to avoid placing soldiers in harm’s way.
A security official addressed the IDF presence along the “yellow line” in southern Lebanon on Sunday evening, saying that “the IDF will remain there as long as there is no peace agreement, for the security of the communities. There will be no withdrawal.”
Talks begin in Switzerland: Vance and Araqchi in the same room
Another Israeli source said that “there is no American demand for a small or large withdrawal. Since the last round, we have been talking about ‘pilot’ areas where the Lebanese army will be able to demonstrate its ability to make the area free of Hezbollah. This is one of the issues that will be discussed this week in the negotiations that begin Tuesday.” According to the source, “we are supposed to lay out maps and discuss implementation. The pilot will be accompanied by the United States to ensure the Lebanese army succeeds in its mission.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s LBCI network reported that “Lebanon was informed by the American side that Israel will carry out limited withdrawals from southern Lebanon as a goodwill gesture ahead of the round of negotiations between the countries on Tuesday.”
Talks begin in Switzerland: Vance and Araghchi in the same room
In his remarks Sunday evening, Netanyahu said: "Can you imagine the United States across the border, you have an army of thousands of terrorists who pellet your cities and your town with rockets and ballistic missiles and killer drones. They kill your soldiers, they kill your citizens, they kill your children. And they threaten them every day. Well, what would America do? Would it say, well, there's nothing we can do? Let's hold our fire? Is that what America would say? No?
“You know damn well what America would do. It would cross the border, create a security zone, kill the terrorists and protect its people until the threat is removed,” he said. “That’s exactly what we are doing.
“We target the terrorists, but there are some civilian casualties in every such war, in every such urban warfare," he continued. "And normally the ratio of combatants to non-combatants killed, non combatants to combatants killed is about 7 to 1, 8 to 1. In Gaza it was much much lower than that, despite all the lies and vilifications aimed at Israel. But I asked our people, our research arm in the Defense Ministry. I said, what is the ratio in Lebanon? And they said to me, today, I just got the document today. Prime Minister, it's 5 to 1. No, not 5 civilians killed for every terrorist, 5 terrorists killed for every civilian that is harmed in the process. 5 to 1. Unheard of. Because no army goes to such lengths like the Israeli army to target terrorists and minimize civilian casualties. We should be commended for it, not condemned. ”
Netanyahu added that “we don't have a war with Lebanon. We have a war with Hezbollah who terrorizes Lebanon and seeks our destruction. And when that proxy of iran is no longer a threat, whether it's dismantled or disarmed, yes, we'll have peace with Lebanon and I look forward to signing it.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz echoed the remarks, writing on X that “Israel has no intention of withdrawing from Beaufort, which is an inseparable part of the security zone in Lebanon and is vital for the defense of the Galilee communities and IDF forces. As Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have made clear, Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon.”
'The Iranian delegation left in protest against Trump'
Iranian media reported Sunday that the Iranian delegation in Switzerland was weighing how to respond to threatening statements by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said in a Fox News interview that if the sides fail to reach an agreement, “we may take control of the Strait of Hormuz, if we have to we’ll blow them to pieces and impose tariffs on passage through the shipping route.” He also said that “the United States can become the ‘guardian angel’ of the Strait of Hormuz and receive 20% of the oil.
Minutes later, Trump issued another threat toward Tehran, posting on his social media platform Truth Social: “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
The Iranian FARS news agency later reported, citing an informed source, that “Trump’s threat stopped the negotiations in Switzerland and left their continuation uncertain.” The Iranian Tasnim news agency reported, citing a source close to the negotiating team, that “the Iranian delegation left the talks site in protest over Trump’s threats.” PressTV said Tehran issued an official protest to the Americans, and Iranian state broadcaster said it was still unclear whether talks with the United States would continue or be suspended.
A member of the Iranian negotiating team told the media: “If the war in Lebanon does not end, negotiations or discussions on other issues will not take place. Practical steps have been taken regarding the release of frozen Iranian funds, with the participation of the Qatari delegation.”
At the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland, delegations gathered led by US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who first met with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan. Vance said Trump “gave us the authority to reach a diplomatic solution on a wide range of issues and asked to open a new chapter to change the relationship with the Iranian people. We are trying together to achieve a lasting change in the Middle East.”
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Who is more responsible for Iran failure? More Israelis say Trum
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He said that “Iran has been a major factor in regional instability, but in the past few hours we have made significant progress and now we see a shared future in which everyone can work together to promote peace and prosperity.” He added that “regarding Lebanon, we have seen significant progress over the past two days aimed at ensuring a ceasefire between the sides.”
Meanwhile, a new study by the Agam Institute led by Dr. Nimrod Nir and the Hebrew University found that most Israelis do not share Netanyahu’s assessment presented at a press conference last week that the war against Iran was a success. Some 86% of Israelis reported negative feelings following the US agreement with Iran. 82.9% believe Israel’s security has weakened in the long term. 72.5% do not believe the prime minister’s claims of significant achievements and 78.7% say the objectives were not achieved or were only partially achieved. Overall, 92.1% of Israelis believe Iran won or benefited more from the campaign, while only 7.9% attribute victory to Israel.
When asked who the public believes is responsible for failures in managing the campaign, 69.1% gave U.S. President Trump a failing or very poor grade. 56.4% gave Netanyahu a failing grade, compared to 60.3% who gave Defense Minister Israel Katz a failing or very poor grade. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir received a failing or very poor grade from only 30.1%, making him the only figure to receive more positive than negative ratings. The study was conducted June 17-20 among 3,644 respondents in a representative sample of the Israeli population.