Israel and Lebanon were represented at the talks by their respective ambassadors in Washington, while State Department Counselor Dan Holler and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Dan Zimmerman represented the US.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n But Leiter was highly critical of the negotiations under the current context, declaring in a Hebrew statement as the talks began that \u201cwe are in a train wreck.\u201d<\/p>\n \t The talks were set up by the Trump administration specifically to detach Lebanon from the ongoing Iran conflict, as Tehran sought to secure an agreement with the US that also protected its Hezbollah proxy.<\/p>\n The direct Israel-Lebanon channel has been used to negotiate several ceasefires in Lebanon in recent months. But those truces barely held at all, as Beirut has been unable to rein in the terror group, and as Israel\u2019s efforts to disarm it exclusively through military means have failed as well.<\/p>\n And as the US sought an end to the Iran war that was wreaking havoc on the global economy, it found itself accepting Tehran\u2019s demands that a ceasefire between the US and Iran also extend to Lebanon \u2014 terms to which Israel says it is not beholden.<\/p>\n In his Hebrew statement, Leiter said that when the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon began, \u201cwe all got on the same train.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe sat in the same car and traveled to the same destination, with the United States serving as the locomotive. The train was heading in a very clear direction: full peace between the countries, Iran and its malign influence out of Lebanon, the disarmament of Hezbollah, and peace and security for Lebanon and Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, this train is in danger of derailing. I hope we can get it back on track,\u201d Leiter said.<\/p>\n \t \u201cThe basic premise [of these talks] was that Iran was not involved, and the main discussion is about Lebanon and Hezbollah \u2014 not about the extent to which Iran can restrain Hezbollah,\u201d the Israeli envoy continued. \u201cThat is not Iran\u2019s role. Its role is to get out of Lebanon. The role of the Lebanese government is to exercise its sovereignty. Sovereignty means that Iran will no longer be involved\u2026 in Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n Leiter said he\u2019ll be seeking \u201cclarity\u201d in Tuesday\u2019s talks \u2014 ostensibly from the US regarding what its position is on Lebanon.<\/p>\n In further remarks, Leiter criticized the new deconfliction cell announced by the US as part of its negotiations with Iran, which is said to curb Israel\u2019s ability to operate against Hezbollah, and would replace an already-existing mechanism in which Jerusalem has a more active role.<\/p>\n \u201cI fear that the concept of \u2018deconfliction\u2019 is misplaced,\u201d Leiter said, in reference to the new cell.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael is not in conflict with Lebanon. Therefore, deconfliction is not the issue. All that is needed is coordination with Lebanon,\u201d the ambassador said. \u201cThe only issue is Hezbollah. Hezbollah must be defeated and removed from the equation. Instead, there is a danger that Hezbollah has received a boost. It certainly feels stronger and bolder.\u201d<\/p>\n Leiter noted the previous meeting resulted in a joint statement from the US, Israel and Lebanon regarding the need to disarm Hezbollah, questioning whether that was still the basis of talks in Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, it must remain so,\u201d he said. \u201cWe agreed to a ceasefire that was conditional on Hezbollah withdrawing north. Is this agreement still binding?\u201d Leiter asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot afford commitments that fade away. And it is important to be clear: Israel will act against immediate and evolving threats to its citizens and soldiers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cIran is expected to benefit from a flow of funds under the MOU. How do we ensure that these funds do not find their way to Hezbollah?\u201d Leiter warned. \u201cIf we cannot guarantee that, then all the words we agree to here will make no difference, because Hezbollah will simply rebuild itself.\u201d<\/p>\n Rubio insists Lebanon and Iran files are separate<\/p>\n The apparent disconnect in the US position may have to do with the fact that US Vice President JD Vance leads the talks with Iran, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spearheaded the talks between Israel and Lebanon while largely staying out of the Iran talks.<\/p>\n Rubio, pressed on the apparent dissonance in the Trump administration\u2019s policy regarding Iran and Lebanon, insisted to reporters after landing in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday that the Lebanon file is separate from the Iranian one.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an Iranian issue with regard to Lebanon, and that is their support and sponsorship of Hezbollah, and so that factor will be discussed as part of our conversations with the Iranians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut as far as the future of Lebanon, the future of Lebanon belongs to the Lebanese people through their sovereign elected government, and that\u2019s who we\u2019re going to be working with,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar on Tuesday accused Iran of indirectly occupying Lebanon through its proxy Hezbollah, and defended Israel\u2019s self-proclaimed security zone in southern Lebanon amid increasing concerns in Jerusalem of potential US limitations on its freedom of action there.<\/p>\n \u201cI hear statements in the international community that Israel is breaching Lebanon\u2019s sovereignty [by occupying a security zone]. This is not the truth. Hezbollah is breaching Lebanon\u2019s sovereignty,\u201d Sa\u2019ar said in an interview at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n \u201cLebanon is under Iranian occupation \u2014 indirect by Hezbollah, but under an occupation. On the soil of Lebanon, there is a stronger army than the Lebanese Army, which is Hezbollah. And this is the core problem\u201d with improving Israel-Lebanon ties, he said, adding he hopes talks between Beirut and Jerusalem lead to \u201ca common future\u201d with Lebanon.<\/p>\n Defending Israel\u2019s security zone, Sa\u2019ar said: \u201cI don\u2019t think there is any other country in the world that would accept attacks from neighboring territory on its citizens, and we cannot as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Also Tuesday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun rejected Israel\u2019s presence in south Lebanon and other foreign interference \u2014 an allusion to Iran \u2014 as the talks began.<\/p>\n \u201cWe accept nothing less than an end to the Israeli occupation and at the same time, the fall of foreign tutelage, because our only option is our national sovereignty and our sole wager is on the Lebanese state,\u201d Aoun said, according to his office.<\/p>\n He also expressed hope that the new round of talks will be \u201cdecisive along the path of achieving what we seek for the good of our nation and people,\u201d namely, \u201cthe full restoration of Lebanon\u2019s sovereignty over every grain of its soil.\u201d<\/p>\n Lebanese authorities have also been eager to keep their negotiations with Israel separate from the wider talks between the US and Iran, as Beirut continues to try to minimize the influence of Hezbollah and, by extension, its Iranian backers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260602__B4QU469__v2__HighRes__UsIsraelLebanonPoliticsDiplomacy-e1782230712723-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tYechiel Leiter (L), Israeli Ambassador to the US, attends a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 2, 2026. (Kent NISHIMURA \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26174390187496-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tDisplaced residents wave an Iranian flag as they return to their village following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mohammed Zaatari)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-23-at-18.09.11-e1782228972306-640x400.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tForeign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar (left) speaks at the JNS conference in Jerusalem on June 23, 2026. (JNS via Foreign Ministry)<\/p>\n
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