Lebanon and Israel began a new round of direct talks in Washington on Tuesday, with the negotiations taking place under heavy pressure from the broader U.S.-Iran deal and the fragile ceasefire in southern Lebanon. The talks are the fifth round since April and are aimed at moving toward a security arrangement after months of war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The talks come as Iran has made Lebanon a central part of its own negotiations with Washington, weakening Beirut’s position and giving Hezbollah more reason to rely on Tehran’s track instead of direct Lebanese-Israeli diplomacy. Lebanese officials said they still want direct talks with Israel, but several officials said the U.S.-Iran deal had reduced the Lebanese state’s leverage.
Lebanon-Israel talks open in Washington
The Washington talks include military and political delegates from Lebanon and Israel, with U.S. officials seeking what they described as a comprehensive peace and security agreement between the two countries. A State Department official said the U.S. goal is to help Israel and Lebanon negotiate as sovereign states and end the cycle of violence.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Tuesday that the new round of talks should be decisive for Lebanon. He also said Lebanon would accept nothing less than the complete end of Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon and the collapse of foreign tutelage, an apparent reference to Iran’s influence.
That leaves Beirut trying to balance two pressures at once. It wants Israel to set a timetable for withdrawal from southern Lebanon, but it also wants to avoid letting Tehran and Hezbollah define Lebanon’s position through the separate U.S.-Iran negotiating channel.
U.S.-Iran deal shifts leverage
The timing of the talks is critical. Four earlier rounds since April failed to produce a durable ceasefire, but the longest lull in fighting came only after the United States and Iran reached a memorandum of understanding requiring a halt to fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon.
That result is politically awkward for Lebanon’s government. Beirut has repeatedly warned that Tehran cannot negotiate on Lebanon’s behalf, yet the strongest reduction in violence came through a U.S.-Iran deal, not through Lebanon’s own talks with Israel.
Iranian officials have reinforced that link. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said Lebanon is an unquestionable part of the agreement and warned that violations in Lebanon would affect the broader peace process.
The U.S.-Iran talks also produced a plan for a de-confliction cell to monitor the termination of hostilities in Lebanon. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Aoun that Washington remained committed to forming the cell, with details still under review.
Israel demands Hezbollah disarmament
Israel sees the Washington talks differently. Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said the purpose of the talks is to disarm Hezbollah and reach a genuine peace agreement with Lebanon. He said Hezbollah is the main obstacle and should be disarmed and dismantled.
Israel has said its forces will remain in southern Lebanon indefinitely if threats persist. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israeli troops retain full freedom of action against any Hezbollah threat to soldiers or Israeli citizens and would remain in Lebanon as long as necessary.
Lebanon’s government has moved cautiously on Hezbollah’s weapons since 2025, trying to reduce the group’s armed power without triggering a domestic conflict. That cautious approach has frustrated Israel, which views Hezbollah’s military structure as the central issue blocking any real settlement.
Hezbollah rejects direct talks
Hezbollah has rejected full disarmament and has called on Lebanon’s government to withdraw from direct talks with Israel. The group expects Iran to demand an Israeli withdrawal through its talks with Washington and says Beirut should rely on that path instead.
That position creates a direct challenge for Aoun’s government. If Lebanon’s talks with Israel produce little, Hezbollah can argue that Tehran’s leverage is more useful. If Beirut moves too close to Israel’s demands, it risks confrontation with Hezbollah at home.
The tension reflects a deeper problem: Lebanon is negotiating over territory, security and sovereignty while one of the country’s most powerful armed groups rejects the process and looks to Iran for leverage. That dynamic gives Washington a narrow diplomatic opening, but it also makes any agreement harder to enforce.
Ceasefire tested by new deaths
The talks began as the ceasefire remained fragile. Israeli gunfire killed two people in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Lebanon’s Civil Defence and health ministry said, prompting Hezbollah to accuse Israel of violating the ceasefire. Israel’s military said troops fired after people approached an area still held by Israeli forces and described them as Hezbollah militants operating under civilian cover.
The shooting marked the first fatalities since Sunday, when the latest lull in fighting began. The pause is the longest so far in the war that began on March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire at Israel in support of Iran and Israel responded with a new offensive in Lebanon.
The war has killed more than 4,100 people in Lebanon, including 773 women, children and healthcare workers, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The ministry’s toll does not separate combatants from civilians. Israel’s toll from this round of hostilities includes at least 32 soldiers and four civilians.
The confirmed development is that Lebanon-Israel talks have resumed in Washington, but the process is now shaped by the U.S.-Iran deal, Hezbollah’s rejection of direct talks and Israel’s insistence that it will keep military freedom of action until Hezbollah is disarmed.
