Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel will continue to occupy territories in southern Lebanon despite the agreement between the US and Iran that aims to end the conflict between Washington and Tehran, reports Anadolu.

In his first public comments on the memorandum of understanding reached between the US and Iran, Netanyahu said that Israel will continue to keep troops in what he called a “security zone” as long as it is necessary.

“We have created reinforced security zones around Israel. We did this in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and we will remain in these security zones as long as necessary to protect our country,” he told a news conference.

“As for Lebanon, we created a buffer zone, a security zone, and we will stay there as long as necessary,” he added.

Netanyahu claimed that Iran has demanded Israel’s withdrawal from these areas, but “that did not happen,” adding that he believes “our American friends respect that.” He also said that Israel still does not know the exact terms of the memorandum reached between Washington and Tehran. “We still do not know what the agreement between Washington and Tehran will look like,” Netanyahu said. one of the objectives of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

“I have not said that one of the objectives of the operation was to overthrow the regime,” he said, claiming that the aim was to “create the conditions” that could lead to its overthrow.

Yesterday, the US and Iran, mediated by Pakistan, announced that they had reached a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict that began after the US strikes and Israeli against Iran on February 28. The agreement is expected to be signed on Friday in Switzerland.

The memorandum is expected to formalize a ceasefire and launch a 60-day period of technical negotiations between Washington and Tehran to implement its provisions.

Source: prizrenpost