Foreign & Public Diplomacy

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at negotiations to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, U.S. and Iranian nuclear deal proposals, and the devastating impact of Super Typhoon Sinlaku.

Israel and Lebanon held rare, U.S.-mediated peace talks in Washington on Tuesday aimed at resolving the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group based in Lebanon. “We discovered today that we are on the same side of the equation,” said Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, adding that both countries were “united in liberating Lebanon” from Hezbollah’s influence.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at negotiations to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, U.S. and Iranian nuclear deal proposals, and the devastating impact of Super Typhoon Sinlaku.

Israel and Lebanon held rare, U.S.-mediated peace talks in Washington on Tuesday aimed at resolving the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group based in Lebanon. “We discovered today that we are on the same side of the equation,” said Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, adding that both countries were “united in liberating Lebanon” from Hezbollah’s influence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to negotiations last week only after Tehran warned that it would withdraw from its two-week cease-fire with the United States if Israel did not cease its attacks on Hezbollah. Iran and Pakistan maintain that Lebanon was part of the U.S.-Iran cease-fire deal. However, Israel and the United States disagree, with the U.S. State Department arguing that Tuesday’s talks were not connected to Washington’s recent negotiations with Tehran in Islamabad.

According to a U.S. statement released on Tuesday, Israel and Lebanon agreed to “launch direct negotiations” to end their dispute, specifying that “any agreement to cease hostilities must be reached between the two governments, brokered by the United States, and not through any separate track.” This suggests that Beirut has sided with Israel’s and Washington’s demand that Lebanon not be part of the U.S.-Iran deal.

Notably, though, Beirut has no direct control over Hezbollah, and Israel and Lebanon do not have diplomatic relations. On Monday, Hezbollah leader Qassem Naim condemned the dialogue, calling it a ploy to pressure the militant group to disarm, and supporters of the........

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