In a televised address Friday to a Hezbollah event, Nasrallah denied any connection between the Iranian-backed terrorist group’s actions in the maritime dispute – which is being mediated by the United States – and ongoing negotiations to restore the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. , which appears to be peaking. “If the Lebanese state is not given what it wants, we will be led to an escalation, even if the nuclear deal is signed,” the Hezbollah leader said, according to the Lebanese news site Naharnet. “If the US mediator comes in and gives the Lebanese state what it wants, we will move towards calm, regardless of whether or not there is a nuclear deal.” “The eyes of the Lebanese should not be on Vienna… The eyes should be on Karish, the sea border and northern Israel,” he added, referring respectively to the location of the border talks and an Israeli offshore gas field claimed by Lebanon. Nasrallah also hit out at Amos Hochstein, the US State Department mediator in the maritime dispute between Israel and Lebanon, who he said was “still wasting time”. He said Hochstein’s “time” was running out to broker a deal. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms Hezbollah stands to gain financially from a revamped nuclear deal, which would see its main patron Iran get substantial relief from US sanctions in exchange for re-imposing restrictions on its nuclear program, while a deal on maritime borders with Israel would position Lebanon to reap windfalls from offshore gas exploration. An Israeli Sa’ar Class 5 corvette guards the floating production, storage and offloading vessel Energean at the Karish gas field, in footage released by the military on July 2, 2022. (Israel Defense) Hezbollah’s chief has recently issued a series of threats to Israel amid intensified US efforts to resolve the maritime border dispute between Jerusalem and Beirut, which have been officially at war since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948. Both countries claim about 860 square kilometers (330 sq mi) of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon also claims the Karish gas field is in disputed territory under ongoing maritime border negotiations, while Israel says it is within its internationally recognized economic waters. Israel and Hezbollah are bitter enemies who fought a month-long war in the summer of 2006. Israel considers the Iranian-backed Shiite group its most serious immediate threat, estimating that Hezbollah has about 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel. Lebanon badly needs a deal on maritime borders in the Mediterranean as it hopes to tap offshore gas reserves to try to ease the worst economic crisis in its modern history. Last month, the Israeli military shot down four unarmed Hezbollah drones flying towards the Karish field. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati criticized Hezbollah at the time, saying the move could pose risks to the country. Hezbollah also released footage showing gas platforms in the area. Earlier this month, Israeli security officials warned the country’s political establishment that failure to reach an agreement on the maritime border dispute with Lebanon could mean being dragged into a military conflict with Hezbollah. Services contributed to this report. It’s not (only) for you. Supporting The Times of Israel is not a transaction for an online service, such as subscribing to Netflix. The ToI community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions around the world, for free. Sure, we’ll remove all ads from your page and unlock access to some great Community-only content. But your support gives you something deeper than that: the pride of participating in something that really matters. Join the Times of Israel Community Join our Community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with the must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we have not set up a paywall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers to whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. For just $6 a month you can support our quality journalism by enjoying Times of Israel ADS-FREE, as well as access to exclusive content available only to members of the Times of Israel Community. Thank you, David Horowitz, founding editor of the Times of Israel Join our community Join our community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
