WASHINGTON (Agencies): The balance of power in the Middle East has changed, a top US official said Thursday, alluding to the killing of multiple Iran-backed militia leaders over the last year.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the shifts were not the way the leaders of Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, or Tehran had planned.
“We are now faced with a dramatically reshaped Middle East in which Israel is stronger, Iran is weaker, its proxies decimated, and a ceasefire that is new and will be lasting in Lebanon that ensures Israel’s security over the long term,” Sullivan said.
He said the purpose of his visit was to ensure that the US-brokered ceasefire that put an end to a yearlong war between Hezbollah and Israel “sticks and is fully enforced.”
Despite hundreds of violations of the ceasefire by Israel, US officials have said the truce is holding. Hezbollah has attacked Israeli forces once since the deal was agreed on Nov. 27.
As part of the deal, Israel is to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah is supposed to pull back its fighters and weapons from the border with Israel. Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers are then supposed to be deployed to the border area. The first Israeli withdrawal began on Wednesday under the supervision of the top US military commander for the Middle East.
Speaking from Israel on Thursday, Sullivan said his visit was also meant to “capitalize on the opportunity” presented after the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. The pressure on Iran will continue, he said, while vowing to ensure that the US would never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.
As for the war in Gaza, Sullivan said the US was looking to close a deal to guarantee the return of hostages held by Hamas in return for a ceasefire. “It’s time to finish the job and bring all of the hostages home,” Sullivan said.
