French, Saudi Arabian and American officials held talks in Paris with the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces on Thursday aimed at finalizing a roadmap to enable a mechanism for Hezbollah’s disarmament.

The meeting with General Rudolf Heykal was planned amid worry that Israel could embark on a new military operation against the Iran-backed group after the December 31 deadline for its disarmament passes.

With growing fears the ceasefire could unravel, officials aimed to create more robust conditions to identify, support and verify the disarmament process and dissuade Israel from escalation, four European and Lebanese diplomats and officials told Reuters.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in November 2024, ending more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that severely weakened the Iran-backed group. Under the deal, Lebanon’s army was to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani by the end of the year before tackling the rest of the country.

Since then, the sides have traded barbs over violations, with Israel questioning the Lebanese army’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have increasingly targeted the terror group in airstrikes.

Speaking after the meeting, France’s foreign ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said the talks had agreed to document the Lebanese army’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah, as well as to........

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