Iran’s top leader demands an unconditional halt to Israeli aggression in Lebanon as a prerequisite for any diplomatic accord with Washington.
Published on 26 July 2026
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has declared that establishing diplomatic ties between Tehran and Washington hinges entirely on Israel ceasing its military operations in Lebanon.
Khamenei made these remarks in a post on X on Sunday.
“Iran has identified safeguarding Lebanon’s territorial sovereignty and the unconditional cessation of the Zionist regime’s military aggression as the fundamental requirement for ending the imposed conflict against the belligerent United States,” he stated.
Beyond this, Khamenei expressed unwavering support for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, its late leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the residents of southern Lebanon—the primary target of Israeli strikes—in a string of posts.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran views the defense of these oppressed yet resilient mujahideen of Hezbollah as a core strategic obligation,” Khamenei asserted.
Khamenei’s intervention occurs as reports surface of a pause in hostilities and renewed diplomatic engagement between Tehran and Washington.
Iran has consistently maintained that halting Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon is a non-negotiable precondition for concluding the conflict, a demand enshrined as the first clause of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two nations in June.
However, this agreement has subsequently collapsed following a dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
Lebanon entered the conflict in March after Hezbollah struck targets in northern Israel, citing the assassination of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the war’s opening day, February 28, and Israel’s nearly daily bombardment of Lebanese lands—an offensive Beirut says breached a ceasefire that had concluded an earlier phase of hostilities in 2024.
On June 26, subsequent to the signing of the US-Iran MoU, Lebanon and Israel concluded a US-brokered framework deal outlining a phased Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territories; however, it omitted a specific timeline for the pullout.
Instead, the text stipulated that Israel would only withdraw from occupied territories once Hezbollah has been disarmed.
Both Iran and Hezbollah, which were not party to the negotiations, have categorically rejected the deal.
While the initial phase of the withdrawal involves Israel pulling back from three “pilot zones,” the Lebanese army announced on Sunday that Israeli forces are obstructing the process, including by refusing to vacate designated territories.
As of Sunday, Israel continued to bulldoze, shell, and carry out mechanized clearing operations with machine guns across vast areas of southern Lebanese territory under its occupation.
At least 4,329 people have lost their lives, while 37 Israeli soldiers and four Israeli civilians have perished in the latest escalation of violence in Lebanon.
According to UN peacekeepers, Israel violated a preceding ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel over 10,000 times.
Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of the late former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was selected as the supreme leader following the US and Israeli assassination of his father.
Khamenei’s statement regarding Lebanon comes as the war expands into Yemen, with reports detailing exchanges of attacks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.