Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Wednesday urged Lebanese authorities to take advantage of a "pivotal" moment following a US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war, ahead of Israeli-Lebanese negotiations next week. American and Iranian officials, as well as mediator Pakistan, have said the deal includes Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since March 2. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun instead insisted his country's negotiations with Israel in Washington were independent of the regional deal.