Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem condemned the US-Lebanon-Israel framework agreement on Saturday, accusing the government of surrendering Lebanese sovereignty and declaring the agreement null and void.
The agreement — which includes a pilot effort in which Lebanese soldiers take control of two areas currently occupied by Israel, as well as a process aimed at disarming Hezbollah — was signed in Washington on Friday after five rounds of talks.
“The framework agreement in Washington is humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty. This agreement is null and void, and the provisions of the Iranian-American memorandum of understanding must be implemented,” Qassem said, referring to the deal to end the broader Middle East war, which provides for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Lebanon was drawn into the regional war on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.
Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and an invasion of southern Lebanon, where its troops occupy swathes of territory and have been carrying out extensive demolitions of homes and other buildings.
Qassem accused Lebanese authorities of committing a “grave blunder” and “legitimizing the continuation of the (Israeli) occupation for many years,” which “may even lead to the annexation of these lands”.
Hezbollah supporters took to the streets of Beirut on Friday night to protest the framework.
In western Beirut’s Hamra street, 48-year-old Ahmad Shamas told AFP on Saturday that “the agreement reached is a humiliating and shameful one”.
Another local, Husam Beiruiti, 43, wasn’t ready to write the agreement off, as he saw no other solution.
“I don’t think it will stop the Israeli aggression. They say it will happen in the future. Let’s wait and see what this agreement achieves,” he added.
– ‘Critical step’ –
Hezbollah has rejected the direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, which have been ongoing since April.
An April 17 ceasefire failed to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, but the violence has decreased since the US and Iran reached a memorandum of understanding last week.
The Israeli military said Saturday that it had targeted “suspected terrorists” who posed a threat to its soldiers in southern Lebanon, and Lebanese state media reported a drone strike on Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
Iran insists any deal to end the broader war must include Lebanon, while the Lebanese government has repeatedly tried to separate the conflicts.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun deemed the agreement “a first step” towards restoring his country’s sovereignty.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the framework as a “critical step away from escalation”.
According to the text of the deal shared by the US State Department, Lebanon and Israel, officially at war for decades, expressed their intent to “conclusively end the conflict, address its underlying causes, and to therewith formally conclude any state of war between them”.
The agreement sets up a process during which Lebanon’s military is due to “restore effective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory, pending the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups”.
Shortly after the deal was announced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces will remain in occupied Lebanese territory “as long as Hezbollah has not disarmed”.
The stagnant situation in the Kurdistan Region is stirring towards the formation of a new government, a process delayed for nearly two years since the elections in October 2024; however, the task may prove difficult due to skirmishes between two camps of rival parties vying for greater influence within the anticipated ministerial lineup.
Despite the presence of emerging parties like the New Generation in the alliance map, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Masoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Bafel Talabani, still control the political tempo in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
A KDP leader stated that “the continued failure to form a government brings the factions closer to the option of re-elections”, while the rival front demands the position of Prime Minister in the region and an equal share of government positions, according to politicians and activists.
Both the PUK and the New Generation are betting on an alliance that, so far, secures about 38 seats, bringing them close to the KDP’s 39 seats, out of the one hundred seats that make up the Kurdistan Region Parliament.
Given this numerical equation, the numerically smaller parties in parliament play the role of a “kingmaker” that can tip the scales for one of the two fronts over the other, leading to an absolute majority (51 seats), which fuels the political squabbles and maneuvers active in the public sphere these days.
Egypt and Türkiye have stepped up military cooperation in recent months through a series of joint exercises, the launch of a high-level military dialogue in Cairo, and the signing of a “framework military agreement” four months ago, against the backdrop of escalating regional tensions.
Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defense announced Thursday that the Turkish, Egyptian and Azerbaijani air forces are conducting their first trilateral air exercise in Turkish airspace. The announcement came days after the conclusion of a separate Egyptian-Turkish air drill. The Turkish Armed Forces also said that Chief of the General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu held talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Thursday.
Military officers and analysts told Asharq Al-Awsat that the expanding defense partnership is primarily intended as a deterrent amid regional instability. They said it is part of the broader Egyptian-Turkish rapprochement and reflects growing coordination on key regional issues.
Relations between Cairo and Ankara have steadily improved after years of estrangement. The two countries reinforced ties by establishing a Strategic Cooperation Council, which held its second meeting in Cairo in February during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Egypt. The meeting produced several cooperation agreements, including a framework military accord.
Alongside closer political coordination, defense ties have expanded through a series of joint exercises. According to Türkiye’s Defense Ministry, the trilateral drill will run through July 3 and is designed to enhance operational capabilities while testing new technical and tactical procedures for air operations.
The exercise follows a bilateral Egyptian-Turkish air drill held at Egyptian air bases from June 11 to 21, involving multirole fighter aircraft of various types.
Military cooperation has also expanded beyond air operations. Egypt and Türkiye conducted the Sea of Friendship naval exercise in the Mediterranean in September 2025, while Turkish and Egyptian special forces held joint training in Ankara from April 21 to 29, 2025.
Maj. Gen. Nasr Salem, former head of the Egyptian Armed Forces Reconnaissance Department, and advisor at the Nasser Military Academy for Postgraduate Studies, said joint exercises serve several strategic objectives, including exchanging expertise and enhancing combat readiness.
Salem told Asharq Al-Awsat that the intensified Egyptian-Turkish drills also send a deterrent message in light of regional turmoil by demonstrating the capabilities and preparedness of both militaries to confront threats to their national security and strategic interests. “The principle of military deterrence,” he stated, “is that if you want to prevent war, you must prepare for it.”
In parallel with the exercises, Egypt and Türkiye held a high-level military dialogue attended by Egyptian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ahmed Fathi Khalifa, Bayraktaroglu, and senior military officials from both countries, Türkiye’s Defense Ministry said.
Political analyst Taha Oghlu, who specializes in Turkish affairs and international relations, described Egyptian-Turkish ties as undergoing “an unprecedented rapprochement.” He said cooperation now extends beyond diplomacy to encompass deepening military and defense ties, reflected in joint exercises and the launch of the military dialogue.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Oghlu said the defense partnership is driven by shared interests and growing coordination on Libya, Syria, Gaza, and the Iran war. He added that instability across the Middle East — particularly the war in Gaza and the crisis in southern Lebanon — has accelerated the rapprochement.
The two countries have also intensified diplomatic contacts. Most recently, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Cairo last week for talks with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty on bilateral ties. He also joined a meeting of the regional quartet comprising the foreign ministers of Egypt, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan to discuss regional developments.
Oghlu said Azerbaijan’s participation in the latest exercise sends a clear signal that Egyptian-Turkish defense cooperation is acquiring broader strategic and geographic dimensions that extend beyond the Eastern Mediterranean and could help reshape the region’s security outlook.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said a deal signed with Israel on Friday was a first step towards fully restoring his country’s sovereignty after the latest war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
“The framework agreement signed today is a first step” that will enable Lebanese “to return to their fully liberated lands, and to their certainly rebuilt homes… under the sovereignty of the Lebanese state that has no partner in its sovereignty over its land and people,” Aoun said according to a statement released by his office.
“We swear to continue to work until this is fully achieved. There will be no more occupation, prisoners, subordination or tutelage,” he added.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the agreement “aims to achieve Israel’s withdrawal from all Lebanese territory, restore state sovereignty over it” and see the return of displaced Lebanese.
“I look forward to the blessed moment when Israel begins to withdraw — so that our dear people can return to their homes with safety and dignity — and to the launch” of reconstruction efforts, Salam added, according to a statement.
Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement in Washington on Friday following several days of talks to secure an end to fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, though both sides framed the deal as an initial step.
“Today we’ve taken the first step in what will be a difficult journey, without a doubt, but an important and an essential and a necessary one,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said before the agreement was inked.
Rubio added that the agreement establishes a clear process to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its infrastructure.
In a later statement he said that the US would facilitate the implementation of the deal through a trilateral “Military Coordination Group for Lebanon” and that Washington would commit significant resources, including an immediate $100 million in humanitarian assistance in coordination with the UN.
Rubio added that the US reaffirmed its intent to improve the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces “to more effectively establish sovereignty throughout Lebanese territory” with more than $30 million in funds under existing US authorities and appropriations.
Hezbollah warning
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned that Lebanese officials who signed the agreement with Israel could not enforce the deal without sparking a civil war.
Lebanese “authorities will be unable to impose the implementation of the agreement signed in Washington unless they go, with American support, to civil war,” said Fadlallah, whose party has long rejected the direct Israel-Lebanon talks.
He added that “what happened in Washington is an attempt to disrupt the Islamabad path, and without the resistance (Hezbollah) nothing will pass,” referring to the initial agreement between the US and Iran on halting the Middle East war, which includes Lebanon.
After the announcement of the agreement, Hezbollah supporters took to the streets of Beirut late Friday in protest.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that “Hezbollah supporters rode motorbikes through the streets of Beirut” including central areas and along a road leading to the airport “in protest at the framework agreement announced between Lebanon and Israel”.
Footage circulating on local outlets and social media showed hundreds of Hezbollah supporters on motorbikes and mopeds roaming Beirut’s southern suburbs, the group’s stronghold, before they headed to the heart of the capital.
