Hezbollah chief says Lebanon at 'pivotal' moment after US-Iran deal

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Wednesday urged Lebanese authorities to take advantage of a "pivotal" moment following a US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war, ahead of Israeli-Lebanese negotiations next week.

American and Iranian officials, as well as mediator Pakistan, have said the deal includes Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since March 2.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun instead insisted his country's negotiations with Israel in Washington were independent of the regional deal.

In a televised address, Qassem hailed the deal as a "great victory" for Iran, thanking his group's backer for "linking the Lebanese arena" to the accord and "forcing Israel to stop its aggression" on the country.

While violence has declined in Lebanon following the announcement of the deal, Israeli strikes on the south have killed at least five people since then, according to state media, which also reported Israeli raids on south Lebanon on Wednesday.

Israel's army said five soldiers were wounded on Wednesday, one of them severely, "as a result of an explosive drone impact in southern Lebanon", the first such announcement since the US-Iran deal.

The Israeli military also said its air force intercepted "several rockets" launched toward soldiers operating in south Lebanon, without reporting casualties.

Hezbollah has not claimed any attacks on Israeli targets so far on Wednesday.

Qassem urged Lebanon to take advantage of "this pivotal point following the agreement... to achieve the expulsion of Israel" from Lebanese territory.

After Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel in support of Tehran, Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion, with troops still occupying Lebanese territory near the border.

- Lebanon-Israel talks -

Under US pressure, Lebanon has been holding direct talks with Israel in Washington since April seeking to end the hostilities and separate the conflict from the regional war, but the Iran-US deal announcement has reshuffled the cards.

Qassem said Lebanese-Israeli talks should be limited to "mutual security", adding that "any proposal under the banner of disarmament will not pass".

Hezbollah has urged authorities to abandon the direct talks and rejects a Lebanese government decision to disarm the group.

President Aoun instead said "the assurances we have received, and what we insist on, is that Lebanon's path in the negotiations is independent, though we are certainly for a ceasefire and for any country that helps us, including Iran," according to a statement from his office.

"Interference in Lebanese affairs is not permitted," he added.

Aoun expressed hope that next week's fifth round of talks "will be more positive, particularly considering the US administration's great interest in Lebanon".

"The Lebanese state is sovereign in its decision-making, and for the first time, it is the one conducting the negotiations, and nobody is negotiating for us," he said.

"I reassure the Lebanese that nobody is tying us to any other country, and any settlement will be through us, not at our expense," he added.

Qassem urged Lebanese authorities not to "agree with Israel on its demands interfering in our internal affairs".

"Everything linked to organising our domestic situation, whether the issue of weapons or the economy, or the national security strategy or defence strategy... it all must be completely outside the negotiations. This we discuss internally," he said.

"In any negotiation, the main demand must be Lebanon's sovereignty," he added.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks since March have killed more than 3,800 people and displaced more than one million others.