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Iran said a timetable for Israel's unconditional withdrawal from Lebanon should be set as soon as possible, calling on the U.S. to force Tel Aviv to stop its attacks and pull back from Lebanese territory.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei made the remarks in a statement to Fars News Agency, saying Israel must end its attacks and military operations across Lebanon.
"We emphasize that it is essential for the U.S. to take all necessary measures to force the Zionist regime to stop all attacks and military operations against all areas of Lebanon," Baghaei said.
Baghaei said the agreement reached between Iran and the U.S. requires the war and attacks to stop on all fronts, including Lebanon.
He said Tehran wants a timetable for Israel's unconditional withdrawal from Lebanon to be determined as soon as possible.
Baghaei said Washington must force Tel Aviv to halt its attacks and withdraw from Lebanon.
His comments came after senior Israeli and Lebanese officials denied Thursday that the Israeli military had withdrawn from any part of occupied southern Lebanon.
Their remarks directly contradicted a U.S. State Department official who said Israel had pulled back some troops as a "good faith gesture" toward Lebanon's government.
According to Israel's Channel 13, Israeli political and military officials said reports in the international press of an Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon, along with claims that the Lebanese army would be deployed to those areas, did not reflect reality.
A senior Israeli defense official told Reuters that Israel's policy was clear and that the military would not be withdrawing from its so-called buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
Channel 12 reported that senior Israeli officials echoed the same position, saying no withdrawal or redeployment of Lebanese forces had taken place.
Channel 13 also reported that a senior Israeli army officer said no withdrawal had taken place so far.
Channel 13 offered a more nuanced account, reporting that the Israeli military was preparing for a partial withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
The channel said the military planned to complete a pullback from certain areas in the coming days as part of the Washington talks.
According to Channel 13, a senior Israeli official said Israel had "seized territory in recent days for negotiating purposes, to withdraw from it."
The official described the move as a withdrawal "from a small area in southern Lebanon, a few percent of the territory."
"We need to let the Americans try their pilot," the official added.
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