President Isaac Herzog on Sunday publicly leveled blame at Iranian-backed proxies for sabotaging the prospects of Middle East stability.
The remarks coincided with the talks between American and Iranian delegations in Switzerland, in which the sides were planning to discuss the escalation between Jerusalem and Hezbollah, among other topics.
"They keep on violating [the ceasefire] through their terror proxy called Hezbollah, which is a terror organization armed to its neck by Iran, and that's the issue," Herzog asserted during an interview with Fox News.
The President underscored that the continued cross-border assaults executed by the terrorist organization remain the principal impediment to establishing a durable peace treaty between Jerusalem and Beirut.
"I tell the whole world, how the hell do you want to get to peace between Israel and Lebanon when you have Hezbollah hijacking Lebanon? Somebody needs to do the work. Unfortunately, it's our soldiers. I don't see anybody else doing it, unless there will be a diplomatic outcome."
Herzog’s public warning followed a formal notification from Tehran regarding its intent to re-implement a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s diplomatic office in India signaled that the shipping freeze would be executed, in part, "in response to the continuous violations of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon."
US Vice President JD Vance, who is managing the American delegation at the Swiss peace negotiations, communicated to reporters prior to his weekend departure from Washington that his team intends to "make progress" on the security matrix.
Herzog re-emphasized that any successful diplomatic framework must mandate the absolute disarmament of Hezbollah, identifying that criterion as "the whole crux of the strategic and tactical debate that's going on around Lebanon these days."
The President noted that despite recent frictions, communication lines with the White House remain robust.
"I want to make clear, it is clear that we have an intimate and good dialogue with the United States of America. We respect President Trump's efforts, and we are raising legitimate concerns, which need to be discussed properly," he said.