Shafaq News- Tehran (Updated on Jul. 27, at 11:44)

Iran has made the preservation of Lebanon's territorial integrity and an end to Israeli attacks the first condition of any memorandum ending its war with the United States, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Sunday in a written reply to Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Khamenei said Iran had designated the defense of Hezbollah's fighters as a strategic policy and had placed the safeguarding of Lebanon's territory and "the complete and unconditional end of the Zionist regime's aggression" as the first condition of the memorandum ending the war with the United States.

The message was issued in response to a letter of allegiance sent to Khamenei by Hezbollah's secretary-general, Naim Qassem, and the group's fighters, pledging loyalty and affirming their commitment to continued resistance.

Read more: US-Iran ceasefire deal leaves Lebanon without guarantees

Lebanon was among the central points of contention between Washington and Tehran in the talks that produced the June memorandum, and it appears as the first substantive provision of the text. Under Article 1, the two sides and their allies declared an immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, explicitly including Lebanon, and committed to ensuring Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty,

On June 26, Lebanon and Israel reached a separate framework agreement after five rounds of negotiations. The deal provides for the disarmament of Hezbollah, the redeployment of Israeli forces, and the deployment of the Lebanese Army beginning in two pilot zones.

Read more: South Lebanon framework: What we know so far

Israeli operations in Lebanon have continued despite both agreements. Lebanese authorities reported repeated demolitions, artillery shelling, and drone strikes across southern districts through July that killed and wounded civilians. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported continued Israeli airspace violations, mostly by drones, including flights over Beirut.