Israel-Lebanon Talks Open in Washington as Hezbollah Disarmament Plan Faces Early Test

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – The fifth round of U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon opened Tuesday in Washington, with negotiators focused on a proposed pilot program that would see Israeli forces withdraw from selected areas of southern Lebanon so the Lebanese army can prove it is able to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure there.

The talks come as Israel is warning that the process could collapse if the United States allows Iran to fold Lebanon into its broader understanding with Tehran. Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said the negotiations were in danger of becoming a “train wreck,” arguing that the original purpose of the talks was clear: remove Iran’s influence from Lebanon, disarm Hezbollah, and move toward peace and security for both nations.

Leiter said Israel agreed to a ceasefire on the condition that Hezbollah withdraw northward and warned that any new funds flowing to Iran under the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding could eventually reach Hezbollah. “If we cannot guarantee that, then all the words we agree on here will make no difference, because Hezbollah will simply rebuild itself,” he said.

The talks opened amid fresh tension along the border. Hezbollah claimed Israeli forces fired automatic weapons at civilians near Nabatiya, killing two people and wounding two others. Israel, meanwhile, said it struck an armed Hezbollah cell operating near Israeli troops in the Ali Taher Ridge area of southern Lebanon.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said his government would “accept nothing less than the end of the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon,” framing the negotiations as a test of Lebanon’s sovereignty. Israel says the greater threat to Lebanese sovereignty is Hezbollah itself, which continues to operate as an Iranian-backed army inside the country.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that the Lebanon track remains separate from the Iran talks, while acknowledging that Iran’s support for Hezbollah must be addressed. Earlier this month, Rubio said Israel and Lebanon could reach peace quickly “were it not for Hezbollah.”

For Israel, the central question remains whether Washington, Beirut, and Jerusalem are still committed to the same foundation: Hezbollah’s removal from southern Lebanon and the restoration of Lebanese state authority along the border.

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