Can US-Iran peace ‘deal’ survive Israeli bombing of Lebanon?

Israel is blowing up buildings in Lebanon - and chances of a lasting deal to secure peace in the Middle East

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(Al Jazeera) The fragile United States-Iran peace agreement is hanging by a thread as Israel intensifies its military campaign in southern Lebanon, raising fears it could unravel before formal negotiations are completed.

The agreement, which the US and Iran signed earlier this week, triggers a 60-day negotiation period for the two to reach a formal peace deal, and talks were supposed to begin in Switzerland on Friday.

However, US Vice President JD Vance cancelled his flight to Switzerland on Thursday night at the last minute after Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon, which killed at least 18 people, after which Iran said its negotiators were not prepared to begin talks until the agreement, which stipulates that Lebanon is included in the ceasefire, showed signs of being implemented.

Analysts say Israel’s continued bombardment of southern Lebanon is poised to derail any hope of ending the war in the Middle East. Israel currently occupies one-fifth of Lebanon, which it has subjected to near-daily attacks since early March. More than 3,000 people have been killed, and more than one million have been displaced from their homes.

While the US-Iran agreement stipulates that both sides will commit to ensuring the “territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon”, Israeli officials have stated this week that their forces will not withdraw from the territory. Ministers in Israel have said “all of Lebanon must burn.”

So, can the deal survive in the face of Israeli bombing? And can President Donald Trump rein in Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu?

Neither side has given an official reason for cancelling trips to begin the awaited talks, which were to be held at the Burgenstock Resort in Stansstad, near Lucerne in central Switzerland.