(SeaPRwire) –   By: Julian Holbrooke

I sat down with Professor Marandi in Tehran last week. He didn’t mince words. Israel’s military stay in southern Lebanon isn’t a temporary security buffer. It’s a land grab. The “interim peace deal” between Washington and Tehran? Marandi called it what it is: a paper tiger. The US is violating its own terms by letting Israeli forces sit tight. Hezbollah has already rejected the US-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon. They see it for what it is. Freedom for Israel to act.

[Official Statement Facts]
Let’s strip the diplomatic language. Iran and the US reached a tentative agreement earlier this month. A key Iranian demand was clear: Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Then last week, West Jerusalem and the Lebanese government signed a separate deal. The US brokered it. It called for a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces. The hook? It was pending Hezbollah’s disarmament. That’s the official line. A tidy, step-by-step process.

[Geopolitical Real Intentions]
Now read the subtext. Both Washington and Tehran are already accusing each other of violations. They exchanged strikes on Friday. The ink on the deal isn’t even dry. Hezbollah rejected the Lebanon-Israel agreement outright. They refuse to disarm. Why would they? Marandi pointed to the “greater Israel project.” Israel wants territory. It controls a strip in southern Syria near the Golan Heights. It holds ground in Lebanon. The agreement gave them a legal cover to stay. The Americans aren’t pushing. They aren’t applying real pressure.

The professor’s blunt assertion is the only one that holds water. The US is not carrying out its obligations. From the start, Tehran didn’t think Washington was serious. They were right. The interim deal was a pause button, not a solution. It was a fragile attempt to freeze a conflict that is already expanding. The geopolitical pendulum isn’t shifting. It’s being held in place by Israeli armor and American inaction. The occupation of Lebanon isn’t a mistake. It’s the strategy.