Israel launches fresh airstrikes in Lebanon; Trump says he could still restart war
By Steve Holland and Jihed Abidellaoui
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France/NABATIEH, Lebanon, June 17 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his new ceasefire agreement with Iran was not final and that he could continue the war if he is not satisfied, even as Israel launched new airstrikes in Lebanon, where the war threatens the broader ceasefire.
Regarding the agreement reached three days ago at the G7 summit in France, Trump said, “This is a memorandum of understanding. If I don’t like it, we will go back to shooting at them, throwing bombs at their heads.”
“If I don’t like this, if they don’t behave, we’ll go back to throwing bombs right in their heads, okay?”
Leaders welcomed the agreement at a summit in the French town of Evian-les-Bains, an hour’s drive from the shores of Lake Geneva, where the Iranian ceasefire memorandum will be signed on the Swiss border on Friday.
The leaders also demanded an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon; Here, the memorandum calls for an end to hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which has displaced more than a million people.
Fighting there has eased but not stopped since the agreement was reached on Sunday, and Israel, which is not part of the talks, says it reserves the right to use force.
Lebanese state media reported new Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire in several towns in the south throughout Wednesday. Lebanese security sources said Hezbollah also carried out two drone attacks on Israeli forces in the south. The group has not publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Israel later said five of its soldiers were injured in two Hezbollah drone strikes in southern Lebanon.
In the southern Lebanon city of Nabatieh, the buildings under a medieval castle captured by Israeli forces were blown up into ruins reminiscent of the Gaza Strip.
City councilor Khodr Kodeih told Reuters that some displaced residents had returned to check on their homes in recent days, but new attacks were again keeping them away.
“The city of Nabatieh has been evacuated again. We hope that a safe environment can be provided for people to return, because basic living needs are still not available,” Kodeih said. he said.
The memorandum of understanding, which has not yet been made public three days after it was signed by Washington and Tehran, extends a ceasefire declared in April for another 60 days to allow negotiations for a permanent ceasefire.
G7 LEADERS’ BACK AGREEMENT
The G7 summit gave Trump the chance to present his deal with Iran to allies Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
They share Washington’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and other issues, but have never endorsed its decision to go to war and worry that Tehran could gain influence by resisting the superpower’s attack and asserting control over the strait.
“We underline the need for negotiations to address the threats Iran poses in the region and beyond and to ensure they never acquire nuclear weapons,” G7 leaders said in a statement. they said.
They said they were ready to contribute to the implementation of the agreement with a coalition led by Britain and France to help secure shipping when the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
Oil prices fell again on Wednesday on expectations that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen; Brent crude oil futures were below $80, their lowest level since the opening salvos of the US-Iran conflict.
MOST IRANIANS ARE IN ‘SURVIVAL MODE’
Trump appears to have achieved little of what he wanted at the beginning of the war. Iran’s theocratic government remains in place, its stockpile of highly enriched uranium has not been surrendered, its ballistic missile capabilities have not been destroyed, and it has not ended its support for anti-Israeli militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Trump says the deal states that Iran will not have nuclear weapons; this is a restatement of Iran’s official position since the 1970s. U.S. officials say further discussions could lead to the removal or destruction of the enriched uranium stockpile.
But ending the war on those terms could expose Trump to criticism, including from hawks within his own Republican party, ahead of midterm elections in November.
The mood among ordinary Iranians, grappling with economic woes worsened by months of war, remained somber even as their leaders declared this week’s interim deal a diplomatic victory for Tehran over Washington.
“I think 99 percent of people are in survival mode and just living day by day,” said Amir, 34, who owns a media production company in Isfahan in central Iran and declined to give his last name.
“I don’t think anyone has hope anymore. I don’t think anyone has a vision of what the future will be like.”
(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Peter Graff and Gareth Jones, Editing by Ros Russell, Aidan Lewis)
