TEHRAN, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran warned Tuesday that if Israel does not end its "malice" in southern Lebanon, it will have to wait for the Iranian armed forces' "harsh" response.
In an official statement, Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said that since U.S. President Donald Trump announced the end of the war, the Israeli army has violated the ceasefire in southern Lebanon 84 times, and is still continuing its "crimes against and killing of the oppressed Lebanese people."
Iran, the United States and Pakistan announced early Monday the finalization of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war on all fronts in the West Asia region, including Lebanon.
Iran and the United States are scheduled to officially sign the MoU in Switzerland on Friday.
Speaking at a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described the war's end in Lebanon as an "inseparable" part of the Iran-U.S. peace deal, saying that in Tehran's view, the two parties to the deal are the United States and Israel on one side, and Iran and Hezbollah on the other.
"The war's end also includes the end of (Israel's) occupation. The war's end is not complete without the Israeli forces' withdrawal from the (Lebanese) territories they occupied in this war," he said.
Araghchi made the remarks after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a press conference on Monday that the Israeli military would remain in the "security zones" it controlled in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip as long as necessary. ■
