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Israel and Lebanon agreed Tuesday to launch direct peace negotiations for the first time in more than three decades, following talks mediated by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, even as the broader regional conflict involving Iran cast a shadow over the diplomacy.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott confirmed that participants held "productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations" and that "all sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue." The meeting involved the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States and marked the first high-level direct contact between the two countries since 1993.
Rubio called it "a historic opportunity," acknowledging the "decades of history" complicating the process. "The hope today is that we can outline a framework upon which a current and lasting peace can be developed," he said.
The talks were shadowed by open defiance from Hezbollah, which fired rockets at more than a dozen northern Israeli towns just as the Washington meeting got underway. The group's leader, Naim Qassem, had called for the negotiations to be scrapped and vowed to fight on.
Lebanon was drawn into the wider conflict when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of its backer Iran, triggering a ground invasion and airstrikes that have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced over one million.
Reactions from the envoys diverged. Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said both sides "had a wonderful exchange" and were "united in liberating Lebanon" from Hezbollah. Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad called the meeting "constructive" but also called for a ceasefire and insisted on "the full sovereignty of the state over all Lebanese land."
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country sought "peace and normalisation" with Lebanon, but stressed that Hezbollah "needs to be addressed." Israeli forces currently occupy parts of southern Lebanon, and Tel Aviv has resisted any halt to hostilities until the group is dismantled.
Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including Britain and France, urged both sides to seize the moment.
Beyond Lebanon, the United States escalated pressure on Iran through a naval blockade covering all vessels entering or departing Iranian ports. By Tuesday, six ships had complied with instructions to turn back, though maritime tracking data suggested some had crossed since the blockade began.
Iran's military branded the measure an act of piracy, warning that if its harbors were threatened, "no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea will be safe." Beijing, the largest buyer of Iranian oil, called the blockade "dangerous and irresponsible."
Despite the escalation, a fragile two-week truce between Washington and Tehran, agreed last Wednesday, remained in place.
Trump indicated a new round of nuclear talks could take place in Pakistan "over the next two days." Senior Pakistani sources confirmed to AFP that Islamabad was working to bring the two sides back to the table. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned that there was "no military solution," adding: "Serious negotiations must resume."
The nuclear question remains the central sticking point. Trump has insisted any deal must permanently prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. During weekend talks, the United States reportedly sought a 20-year suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment program. Iran countered with a five-year pause, which U.S. officials rejected, according to the New York Times. Iran denies seeking an atomic bomb.
Russia and China both signaled deeper engagement. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Beijing on Tuesday, hours after speaking with his Iranian counterpart, as Moscow offered to store Iran's enriched uranium as part of any deal. Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged that Beijing would play a "constructive role" in promoting peace talks.
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