Israel and Lebanon have signed a framework peace agreement following U.S.-backed negotiations in Washington D.C. The deal, announced on Friday, is intended to sideline Iran and its proxy group, Hezbollah.
"In this performance-based trilateral framework agreement, Iran is out, Hezbollah is out, and the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in," stated Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter at the signing ceremony.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the agreement as an initial step toward restoring prosperity to Lebanon, asserting that Hezbollah's presence had promoted terrorism. He added that the Lebanese people have endured significant suffering due to external interference aimed at using the country as a base for attacks.
"What they deserve to have is what they once had — and of which there is recent history of — and that is a prosperous and peaceful country, a diverse country where people of different backgrounds were able to live and coexist side by side in many ways was the envy of the region and of the world," Rubio said. "It will take a lot of work and some time to get back to that point, but we believe today is the first step in that journey."