Even if a deal is reached with Iran, Israel says Lebanon is still a battlefield. What does that mean for the region?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear to Washington that any future agreement with Iran will not limit Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, effectively drawing a sharp line between the two fronts of the expanding conflict.
According to Israeli officials cited in local reporting, Netanyahu told U.S. counterparts that Israel will continue its campaign against Hezbollah regardless of any diplomatic outcome between Washington and Tehran. The message directly rejects Iranian efforts to link a broader ceasefire to the Lebanese theater, where fighting has intensified in recent weeks.
The position reflects a strategic calculation inside Israel that the war in Lebanon is not a secondary front, but a central battlefield tied to long-term security concerns. Netanyahu is said to view the current moment as an opportunity to push Hezbollah forces north of the Litani River, a longstanding Israeli objective aimed at creating a buffer zone along its northern border.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has reinforced that approach, signaling that Israeli forces will not withdraw from southern Lebanon and may establish a sustained security presence extending to the Litani. The plan reportedly includes dismantling infrastructure in border villages and reshaping the security landscape in a manner similar to previous operations in Gaza.
The United States, under Donald Trump, appears to have accepted Israel’s position, according to a senior Israeli official, suggesting that Washington is prioritizing a potential agreement with Tehran over managing parallel conflicts involving Hezbollah.
Iran, however, has attempted to expand the scope of negotiations, signaling through intermediaries that any ceasefire framework should include Lebanon. That proposal has been firmly rejected by Israel, which insists on maintaining operational freedom against Iranian-backed forces in the country.
Since early March, Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in southern Lebanon have escalated following cross-border attacks by Hezbollah. Lebanese authorities report more than 1,200 fatalities and thousands of injuries, underscoring the human cost of a conflict that is increasingly detached from diplomatic efforts elsewhere.
The divergence in positions highlights a deeper reality shaping the war’s trajectory. Even if Washington and Tehran move toward a deal, the region is unlikely to see a comprehensive ceasefire. Instead, the conflict is fragmenting into parallel wars—each driven by its own strategic logic, and each capable of continuing independently.
