Israel-Lebanon Talks Expose Rift Over Iran’s Role

Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon continued Wednesday at the Pentagon after opening Tuesday at the State Department in Washington. Jewish Insider reported that people familiar with the talks said there is a disagreement inside the U.S. administration between Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Iran’s role in Lebanon. Vance has said Washington expects Iran to help rein in Hezbollah, while Rubio has argued that talks with Iran and efforts to stabilize Lebanon are separate tracks.

Sources describing Tuesday’s Israel-Lebanon discussions called them “difficult.” An American source told Al Arabiya that Israel is conditioning any withdrawal on concrete steps by the Lebanese side on the ground, and that the main dispute centers on the mechanism for starting the pullback. According to that source, Israel is insisting on a step-by-step formula, wants the Lebanese Army to prove it can dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in the relevant areas, and is demanding searches of tunnels in the Ali al-Taher area to ensure Hezbollah operatives are not inside. Israel is also demanding Lebanese Army deployment before any withdrawal and wants guarantees that no Hezbollah military assets remain.

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, sharply criticized the direction of the talks in a post he described as a “train wreck.” He said the earlier rounds had all been heading toward a clear goal, full peace, Iran out, Hezbollah dismantled, and security for both countries, but warned that the process is now in danger of going off the rails. Leiter said Iran’s role should be to leave Lebanon, not help restrain Hezbollah, and added that Israel needs clarity because it does not view this as a conflict with Lebanon itself, but with Hezbollah.

Separately, Channel 13 reported that despite promises by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel is preparing for a partial withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The report said some areas north of the current line could be vacated as part of a pilot in which the U.S. Army would train the Lebanese Army and verify who is present on the ground. A senior Israeli official told the channel that Israel recently captured territory for negotiation purposes and would withdraw from only a small portion, “a few percent” of the area. A claim by Lebanon’s Al Jadeed that the talks would also discuss returning Ron Arad’s remains in exchange for Lebanese prisoners was denied by sources familiar with the negotiations.