Israel’s military presence in southern Lebanon reflects its broader territorial ambitions and shows that the US is failing to uphold its commitments under the interim peace deal with Iran, Tehran-based Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi told RT.

Iran and the US reached a tentative agreement earlier this month. Tehran demanded that Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon. Last week, West Jerusalem and the Lebanese government signed a US-brokered deal for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces pending Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Both Washington and Tehran have offered conflicting interpretations of the deal in recent days, exchanging strikes on Friday and accusing each other of violating its terms. Hezbollah rejected the Israel-Lebanon agreement, saying it gives West Jerusalem freedom to act in the neighboring state, and refused to disarm.

“We all know that the [Israeli] regime wants to expand its territory to take Lebanon and Syria, and this is part of the greater Israel project,” Marandi said, commenting on the evolving situation and referring to Israel’s continued military presence in Lebanon and its control of a strip of territory in southern Syria near the occupied Golan Heights.

He added that the US is refraining from carrying out its obligations with regards to the occupation of Lebanon.

“The Americans are not pushing them out, they’re not putting pressure on the [Israeli] regime to withdraw from their occupation,” Marandi said, adding that from the beginning, the Iranians did not believe that the US was serious about implementing the interim deal.

See the full interview below