Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Ted O’Brien has defended Israel’s right to continue its military operations in southern Lebanon, even as the Trump administration urges an end to the campaign and a new US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) seeks to halt the conflict.
His comments come amid rising scrutiny of the MOU, which includes a commitment from the United States to secure an “immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon.” Israel is not a signatory to the agreement, nor is Hezbollah a fact O’Brien says is making an already volatile situation even more complex.
The stakes escalated sharply on Saturday when Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people, including two children.
Lebanon’s health ministry says the latest round of fighting has now claimed 4,000 lives since the conflict reignited. The strikes occurred just hours after the MOU came into effect.
In response, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, warning that “not much” was likely to change unless the fighting stopped. The move has added fresh geopolitical pressure to an already fragile regional landscape.
O’Brien told ABC’s Insiders that the situation is being shaped by actors outside the scope of the US-Iran agreement. “There’s no doubt that when you have the likes of Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon at the moment, neither of whom are part of the agreement struck between the US and Iran, it certainly complicates things,” he said.
The shadow minister’s remarks highlight the widening gap between Washington’s diplomatic push and the realities on the ground, where Israel continues its campaign and Hezbollah remains deeply entrenched.
As the conflict intensifies, questions are growing about whether the MOU can meaningfully influence events or whether the region is sliding toward a broader confrontation.
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