Sheikh Qassem: Framework Agreement with ‘Israel’ A Sin, Hezbollah to Continue Resistance until Occupier is Defeated

Translated by Al-Ahed News, Hezbollah Media Relations

Statement by Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem Regarding the Framework Agreement Between the Lebanese Authorities and the Zionist Enemy:

1. Where is the integrity and responsibility of the Lebanese authorities toward their people and the protection of Lebanon's sovereignty? The American sponsor did not secure a ceasefire for them, and when a ceasefire proposal emerged from the US- Iran talks in Pakistan in April 2026, they rejected it. This led the “Israeli” enemy to commit the crime of "Black Wednesday” martyring and wounding hundreds, terrorizing the population and causing widespread destruction through one hundred airstrikes across Lebanon, beginning with the capital, Beirut.

2. We told the authorities that direct negotiations are nothing but unilateral concessions to “Israel”, because they are meetings designed to enforce submission to the demands of aggression and to “Israeli”-American dictates in their entirety. You entered these negotiations while at odds with more than half of the Lebanese people, and in violation of the Constitution and the laws that regard the “Israeli” entity as an enemy and criminalize any dealings with it, whether by word or deed.

You possess no leverage with which to negotiate because you voluntarily abandoned the strength of the Resistance and the people. You stabbed the Resistance in the back by declaring it outside the law in the midst of the war, from its very first moment, through the government's disastrous decision of March 2- thereby serving the “Israeli” scheme of aggression.

Playing with words and reinterpreting them does not help; results are the true measure. This constitutes a relinquishment of Lebanon's sovereignty, as recognized by both friend and foe.

3. The US- Iran Memorandum of Understanding placed an end to the war on Lebanon as its first provision. When the “Israeli” enemy refused to comply, Iran suspended the agreement and continued closing the Strait of Hormuz until the US pressured “Israel” and compelled it to cease fire.

The first clause of the Memorandum of Understanding states:

"The United States and Iran, together with their respective allies in the ongoing conflict, by signing this Memorandum of Understanding, declare an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. They further undertake henceforth not to initiate any war or military operation against one another, to refrain from threatening or using force against one another, and to guarantee the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.”

The third clause stipulates that negotiations to reach a final agreement shall be completed within sixty days.

The authorities once again refused until reasonable voices and those involved in the Memorandum explained to them that the ceasefire would indeed take effect- something they themselves had failed to achieve- and that this served Lebanon's interests. Negotiations concerning “Israel's” withdrawal would remain in Lebanon's hands, with no one negotiating on its behalf.

This is a gift of honor, dignity, and strength from steadfast and proud Iran to Lebanon, its people and its Resistance.

The Memorandum guarantees "the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon," and sovereignty will be realized through a complete “Israeli” withdrawal, to be agreed upon within sixty days. This is a source of leverage Lebanon could never have dreamed of possessing.

Yet the authorities, through the "Framework Agreement," abandoned the leverage provided by the Memorandum, as well as the strength of the Resistance and the steadfastness and sacrifices of the great Lebanese people, granting “Israel” what it wanted free of charge.

4. What a catastrophic failure! What a grave sin in surrendering sovereignty to the “Israeli” enemy!

Netanyahu permits the deployment of the Lebanese Army in two "pilot areas." The enemy oversees the army's deployment and the steps toward disarmament, while the tripartite committee follows up on “Israel’s” demands. The experimental period in those two areas may last for months, and no expansion to other areas will occur without a certificate of "good conduct" from “Israel” and implementation of what “Israe”l itself failed to achieve on the battlefield.

As Netanyahu himself stated: ‘Israel’ will remain in the security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon, and residents will not be allowed to return to the occupied area."

The authorities are effectively legitimizing the occupation's continuation for many years and perhaps even paving the way for these lands to be annexed to the Zionist entity.

This agreement deprives Lebanese citizens of the right to return to their homes.

What right does the “Israeli” enemy have to interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs? Any agreement should be confined to the area south of the Litani River and should have no connection whatsoever to Lebanon's internal matters concerning weapons, security, or the country's future.

Linking “Israel's” withdrawal to the disarmament of the Resistance throughout all of Lebanon is an extremely dangerous proposal that crosses every red line and leaves Lebanon at the mercy of the “Israeli” enemy.

Under the pretext that Lebanon must disarm in order for “Israel” to withdraw, any weapon anywhere in Lebanon would be cited as evidence of Lebanon's noncompliance. Yet those weapons will certainly not be surrendered, nor does anyone have the right to deprive the Lebanese people of their right to defend themselves and their land against an occupier of our territory and a killer of our people.

The enemy must withdraw because it is an aggressor and occupier, through an agreement addressing the immediate causes of the conflict, as occurred on November 27, 2024. Any attempt to go beyond that framework rewards “Israel” after the defeat of its project and constitutes a surrender of Lebanon's sovereignty.

5. The Framework Agreement signed in Washington is a humiliation, a disgrace, and a surrender of sovereignty. This agreement is null and void. Instead, the provisions of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding must be implemented.

We will continue using all necessary means, along with international and Arab pressure, to ensure that the “Israeli” enemy complies with the first clause of the Memorandum and withdraws from Lebanon.

We say to the Lebanese authorities: It is time to reverse the grave mistakes that are destroying Lebanon. Doing so would be a virtue after these transgressions. We stand ready to cooperate and work together for Lebanon's sovereignty, the liberation of its land, the expulsion of the “Israeli” occupier, the return of the prisoners, the return of displaced residents, reconstruction, rebuilding the country, and reaching an understanding on a national security strategy.

The ceasefire would never have been achieved without the tremendous sacrifices of the Resistance fighters, their families, and the Lebanese people.

We will remain faithful to the martyrs, the wounded, the detainees, the sacrifices of the people of the land, the Lebanese Army, and all the organizations and groups that have given martyrs and wounded. We will continue as a Resistance on the battlefield until the occupation is defeated.
We did not abandon the battlefield in its most difficult moments, and we will not abandon it now. This is the path to goodness and salvation.

As God Almighty says: "Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah. That is better for you, if only you knew." [Qur'an 9:41]