Lebanese Foreign Minister: Framework Agreement with Israel a Victory for Diplomacy and State Logic

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajeh announced Saturday that the "framework agreement" with Israel is a "victory for diplomatic solutions and prioritizing state logic." This followed a phone call from Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who congratulated Rajeh on the US-sponsored agreement, a Lebanese Foreign Ministry statement noted. Safadi, the statement added, hoped the agreement would benefit Lebanon and its people, fostering "stability and consolidating state sovereignty across all its territories." Rajeh, in turn, appreciated Jordan's position, reiterating the agreement "embodies the triumph of diplomatic resolution and the ascendancy of state institutions." Separately, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry called the agreement an "important step" for Lebanon's security, stability, and its ability to assert full sovereignty. Conversely, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, in a Saturday statement, denounced the agreement with Israel as "humiliating and non-existent," demanding Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon per the Iranian-American memorandum of understanding. The "framework agreement" was signed on June 26, 2026, between Beirut and Tel Aviv, under US patronage. This concluded a fifth round of direct negotiations in the US, centered on Israeli forces' withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Lebanese army deployment arrangements.