【Israel-Lebanon Talks: Bargaining with the Tiger? Trump’s Unfinished Mission in Iran Now Passed to Netanyahu】On April 16, Netanyahu issued a statement regarding Lebanon and Iran, the full text as follows:

We have an opportunity to reach a historic peace agreement with Lebanon.

President Trump intends to invite both myself and the President of Lebanon in an effort to advance this agreement.

This opportunity exists because since the 'War of Redemption,' we have fundamentally altered the balance of power in Lebanon.

We activated the pagers; destroyed vast military stockpiles—150,000 rockets and missiles—that Nasrallah had prepared to destroy Israeli cities. We eliminated Nasrallah!

The shift in balance has reached such a degree that, over the past month, we have begun receiving calls from Lebanon requesting direct peace talks.

This has never happened in over 40 years!

I responded to this call, agreeing to a temporary ten-day ceasefire—not a permanent one—to try to advance the agreement we began discussing during the Washington ambassadorial meeting.

We have two fundamental requirements for these negotiations:

First, the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Second, a sustainable peace agreement achieved through strength.

To secure this ceasefire, Hezbollah insisted on two conditions:

First, Israel must withdraw from all Lebanese territory and retreat to the international border.

Second, a ceasefire based on the "quiet for quiet" model.

I did not agree to either of these points—and indeed, neither condition has been met.

We will continue to remain in an enhanced security buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

This is a security buffer zone stretching from the sea all the way to the foothills of Mount Dov and Mount Hermon, right up to the Syrian border.

This is a ten-kilometer-deep security zone—stronger, denser, more continuous, and more resilient than anything we’ve ever had before!

We are here—and we will not leave!

This allows us first to prevent dangerous incursions into our communities; second, to prevent direct anti-tank fire from reaching our towns.

Residents are now free from these two major threats.

But the problem remains: there are still rockets left.

There is one more thing I’d like to tell you.

Over the past two days, I spoke with President Trump, who told me he is firmly committed to continuing the maritime blockade and advancing the plan to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities—the remaining parts thereof.

He will not give up on this.

He is confident he can permanently eliminate this threat once and for all, and together with us, continue achieving great accomplishments.

Naturally, we will also address the missile threat and enriched uranium.

I won’t go into detail on these matters.

This could fundamentally transform our security and diplomatic landscape for years to come.

With God’s help, we will act!

With God’s help, we will succeed!

From the statement, Netanyahu’s true intentions are crystal clear: Israel’s absolute security is non-negotiable—no concessions, no withdrawal from southern Lebanon! The leadership of the Lebanese government would do well to learn quickly and avoid following Nasrallah’s path.

Lebanon is being ordered to disarm Hezbollah, eradicate all non-state armed groups, and ensure that only the Lebanese army holds weapons.

The Lebanese government will sign a treaty imposed under duress—more accurately, a surrender document.

In exchange, there is a ten-day “goodwill pause,” but Netanyahu can cancel it at any time.

This is not a ceasefire—it is Israel demanding that Lebanon fulfill what the IDF failed to achieve on the battlefield: “crush” Hezbollah, while retaining the right to strike at any moment!

At its core, the U.S.-led Israel-Lebanon talks are not peace negotiations, but rather a scheme to drive Lebanese factions against each other so Israel can get what it wants through so-called “diplomatic means.”

Meanwhile, the mission Trump failed to complete in Iran will now be taken up by Netanyahu.

Greater bloodshed lies ahead...

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862671233592332/

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