Pentagon plans US ground troop deployment to force Hezbollah disarmament: Report

The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to deploy US ground troops to Lebanon to implement the recently signed and controversial US-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel, which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Citing US officials, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that American forces would be stationed in Lebanon to monitor compliance with the agreement by both Lebanon and Israel.

According to the report, US troops would also be deployed in the Israeli-occupied territories.

The newspaper added that officials from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) would report any violations of the so-called ceasefire agreement directly to the Trump administration. It noted, however, that CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper would not take a direct role in overseeing the agreement.

The report came as Cooper visited Beirut on Monday, where he met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal to discuss the implementation of the agreement’s security provisions. CENTCOM later said Cooper also visited Israel during the trip.

Lebanon parl. speaker rejects deal with Israel as 'imposition' on country

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri says the agreement signed in Washington is an imposed set of dictates rather than an agreement that safeguards Lebanon

The agreement, signed in Washington last week, requires the Lebanese army to oversee the disarmament of Hezbollah and other “non-state armed groups” ahead of a phased Israeli "withdrawal" from southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has rejected the agreement as “null and void,” warning that attempts to impose it could trigger internal unrest.

The resistance group reiterated on Monday that it reserves the right to self-defense as Israeli forces continue attacks on southern Lebanon, as a blatant violation of the ceasefire.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem has also described the US-brokered agreement as “a gratuitous concession” to Israel and “a stab in the back of the resistance.”

Instead, he called for the implementation of the Iran-US memorandum of understanding (MoU), whose first provision calls for a permanent end to hostilities across all fronts, including Lebanon.

Iran has repeatedly urged the United States to compel Israel to halt its attacks on Lebanon and fully withdraw from the areas it occupies under the Tehran-Washington agreement signed on June 17.

Tehran has maintained that all provisions of the MoU, including those relating to Lebanon, must be fully implemented.

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