Lebanon Parliament Speaker Rejects Israel Framework Deal

Nabih Berri, speaker of Lebanon’s parliament, said the framework agreement signed this week between Israel and Lebanon is contradictory and impossible to implement. “This agreement will not pass, and it will not be implemented in its current form,” Berri said in a statement shared by his party.

He described the deal as one of “dictates” that does not preserve Lebanon’s rights and was designed to sow discord among the Lebanese.

An Iranian official said Iran cancelled its participation in technical talks with the U.S. scheduled for Sunday. The decision followed recent attacks on the country and what officials described as unfulfilled conditions under the 60-day memorandum of understanding.

The talks had been expected to address freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said the next round was scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Switzerland, though he expressed uncertainty about whether the meetings would occur.

Foreign Ministry condemned Israeli incursions into the southern provinces of Quneitra and Deraa and artillery shelling that it said terrorised civilians. The ministry called the attacks a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Iran’s foreign minister, during a meeting with Iraq’s national security adviser, said Gulf countries should learn from recent events and collectively decide on the region’s security architecture. He added that any security pact should cover economic matters and exclude outside military powers.

Israel said it destroyed a Hezbollah underground facility in southern Lebanon. A joint statement by the Israeli prime minister and defence minister described a tunnel network more than 200 metres long and 25 metres deep that contained hundreds of combat means and several launch silos.