Israel offers limited withdrawal as Iran sets ‘red lines’ in Lebanon

Israel reportedly planning to propose a pilot program for withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon, while Iran lays out its “red lines” in Lebanon conflict.

By World Israel New Staff

Israel is expected to propose a limited withdrawal from part of southern Lebanon during US-mediated talks in Washington, as Iran warned that renewed Israeli attacks in Beirut and southern Lebanon would cross Tehran’s “red line.”

The Israeli proposal, reported by Channel 12, would see the IDF pull back from a small pilot zone in southern Lebanon, allowing Lebanese forces to enter the area under American supervision.

The reported plan is intended to test whether Lebanon can assume security control in selected areas while Israel continues to hold other strategic positions where it says Hezbollah infrastructure remains.

According to the report, the Israeli delegation arrived in Washington with maps outlining a limited zone where the IDF could withdraw from territory that Israeli officials view as relatively cleared. An Israeli source said the pilot area would be south of the Litani River and beyond the Blue Line.

The talks opened Tuesday and are expected to continue for three days, with separate political and military tracks.

Israel’s political delegation is being led by Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and Yossi Dreznin, a senior National Security Council official and envoy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The military track is being led by Brig. Gen. Michael Levin, head of the IDF Strategy Division, along with acting military attaché Arik Ben-Dov.

The American delegation is led by State Department Counselor Dan Holler and Daniel Zimmerman, the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. The talks are part of a US-brokered framework aimed at advancing a broader security and political agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

The limited-withdrawal proposal comes as Israel tries to preserve operational freedom in southern Lebanon while avoiding a process dictated by Washington or Tehran.

Israeli officials have said the IDF will continue to hold strategic areas where its mission is incomplete, especially around the Ali Taher Ridge, where the army says a large underground Hezbollah complex remains.

The IDF is weighing how to destroy the underground site without disrupting the diplomatic process. Division 36, including the Givati Brigade and the 401st Brigade, is operating in the area as part of what Israeli reports described as a complex engineering and logistical effort.

A military recommendation on the site is expected to be submitted to Israel’s political leadership in the coming days.

At the same time, Iran is setting conditions tied to Lebanon as part of the broader US-Iran memorandum reached after talks in Switzerland.

Iran’s ambassador in Geneva said Tuesday that the Islamic Republic’s “red line” was Israeli attacks in Beirut and southern Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tuesday that Lebanon was part of the US-Iran understanding and that Washington was obligated to maintain the ceasefire.

“The commitment to a ceasefire in Lebanon is part of the memorandum of understanding, and the United States has committed to uphold it,” Baghaei said.

Tasnim, an Iranian news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported earlier that Iran would halt negotiations if Israel did not withdraw from Lebanon.

The outlet said Article 1 of the memorandum declared “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” and included a commitment to “ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.”

According to the Tasnim report, “Iran will enter the phase of tough reaction given the continuation of Israel’s occupation and crimes in Lebanon.”

Reuters reported that the United States and Iran agreed in Switzerland on a roadmap toward a permanent agreement within 60 days, including mechanisms to manage the Lebanon ceasefire and keep commercial shipping moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

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