US pushing ahead with efforts to broker Lebanon-Israel deal, asks Israel to show restraint

The Trump administration is pressing ahead with efforts to broker a Lebanon-Israel deal and has urged Israel to show restraint despite Hezbollah’s attempts to derail the process, US officials told Al Arabiya English on Tuesday.

Washington has facilitated two rounds of direct negotiations between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States in recent weeks.

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A third round is expected in the near future, according to Lebanon’s president.

“We have asked Israel to show restraint and give this diplomatic process space because we think there is an opening to create real political change in Lebanon, and they are continuing to do so,” a US official told Al Arabiya English.

The official urged the Lebanese government “to rapidly follow through with its plan to make Beirut a zone safe from weapons.”

Both Lebanon and Israel are expected to increase their level of representation after the next round of talks, sources familiar with the process said.

Asked about progress on scheduling a new round, a State Department official said diplomacy was ongoing but declined to comment on discussions about the next date.

“We are working to create the conditions and political momentum needed to move this forward,” the State Department official said.

Nevertheless, the State Department official criticized Hezbollah for its efforts to sabotage progress on direct talks between Beirut and Israel. “Hezbollah is still trying to derail negotiations with attacks on Israel and threats inside Lebanon.”

The official added: “President Trump has been clear that direct engagement between the two countries is the best way to swiftly advance a lasting peace and security agreement.”

During the second round, the US president chose to sit in, prompting the talks to be moved from the State Department to the White House. In a sign of Trump’s interest in the negotiations, he tasked Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Caine with presiding over the talks.

Trump has also suggested that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet soon at the White House. But Beirut has said it is premature to discuss such a meeting before a ceasefire is agreed and Israeli troops fully withdraw from Lebanon.

Last Friday, the US Embassy in Beirut said the current ceasefire with Israel gives Lebanon “the space and the opportunity to put all of its legitimate demands on the table with the full attention of the United States Government.”

In a post on X, the embassy urged Aoun to meet directly with Netanyahu, “facilitated by President Trump,” to “give Lebanon the chance to secure concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction support, and the complete restoration of Lebanese state authority over every inch of its territory—guaranteed by the United States.”

The embassy added that this was Lebanon’s “moment to decide its own destiny, one which belongs to all its people. The United States is ready to stand with Lebanon as it seizes this opportunity with confidence and wisdom. The time for hesitation is over.”

Aoun and the Lebanese government have been repeatedly criticized for engaging in direct talks with Israel, with Hezbollah and its Shia allies in the Amal Movement claiming this constitutes a concession.

On Monday, Trump’s envoy to Beirut pushed back on that criticism, saying an Aoun-Netanyahu meeting would allow the Lebanese president to lay out his demands directly before Trump and Netanyahu. “I don’t understand why people describe this as a concession,” Ambassador Michael Issa said in remarks to the press.

In an interview with Fox News, Rubio said Israel has no territorial claims on Lebanon and that its problem is with Hezbollah, not the Lebanese state. He also suggested the US is working on a system to support vetted units within the Lebanese army with training, equipment, and capabilities to take on Hezbollah.

The top US diplomat said the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) may have the willingness but lack the full capability to address all threats emanating from Hezbollah inside Lebanon.

Pushing back on claims that Israel has territorial ambitions in Lebanon, Rubio said the US opposes any permanent buffer zone inside the country. “I don’t think the Israelis want it indefinitely… The Israelis will tell you that. They don’t want to permanently be in Lebanon,” Rubio said.

This article has been updated with additional comments from a US official

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