The caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, said today, Tuesday, before heading to France on his first official foreign visit after assuming this position, that he would discuss with French President Emmanuel Macron the Iranian file and what he described as the attack on gas platforms along the shores of Lebanon.

"It is important that our opinion be heard against the dangerous nuclear agreement and against Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons," Lapid said.

In this context, a senior Israeli official told reporters that Lapid will press French President Macron today to push him to take a tougher and time-bound position regarding the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file.

"Israel opposes returning to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the 2015 nuclear deal), and at the same time we do not oppose reaching an agreement, but we seek a very strong agreement," the official added.

Israel wants the world powers' agreement with Tehran to ensure that the Iranian nuclear project is restricted and the development of long and medium-range missiles is limited.

With regard to Lebanon, the Israeli caretaker prime minister said that the Lebanese government must rein in Hezbollah, "or we will be forced to do so," as he put it.

He added that he would inform Macron that Hezbollah poses a threat to the stability and safety of Lebanon, while calling on the Lebanese government to ensure that Hezbollah does not obstruct the process of demarcating the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon.


intelligence materials

Lapid intends to present new intelligence materials to Macron to prove his accusation of Hezbollah threatening Lebanon's stability.

Last Saturday, Hezbollah announced that it had launched 3 unarmed drones towards the disputed area at the Karish gas field to "carry out reconnaissance missions", and confirmed that its message had been received.

On the other hand, the Israeli army announced the interception of the three planes, and said that they did not pose a real threat while they were in flight.

The Israeli official, who spoke to reporters, said that Hezbollah was "playing with fire," and confirmed that the Karish field would produce gas not only for Israel, but eventually for the European Union as well, which would benefit the EU countries in their efforts to dispense with Russian fuel.

On the other hand, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted high-ranking political sources as saying that the investigation file into the murder of fellow Al-Jazeera correspondent Sherine Abu Akleh is among the files that Lapid will discuss with the French President.

And Washington announced yesterday, Monday, that the US security coordinator concluded, after reviewing two separate investigations conducted by the Israeli army and the Palestinian Authority, in addition to the forensic analysis, that colleague Shireen Abu Aqleh was most likely killed by shooting from the site of the Israeli army.

The US State Department said - in a statement - that ballistics experts who worked under the supervision of the US Security Coordinator concluded that the bullet that killed Abu Aqila on May 11 was severely damaged in a way that prevented a clear conclusion from being reached, and that independent investigators were unable to From reaching a final conclusion after a detailed forensic analysis of the projectile.

The US State Department also said that the coordinator did not find any reason to believe that Shirin's killing was premeditated, but that it was "the result of tragic circumstances during a military operation," as it put it.