Delegations to discuss pilot deployment in southern Lebanon as US-backed mechanism adds new layer to negotiations
Israeli and Lebanese delegations are set to meet in Washington on Tuesday for a new round of talks centred on Hezbollah’s disarmament in southern Lebanon and the broader possibility of future normalization between the two countries.
The discussions will run over three days and proceed along parallel political and military tracks. Israel’s delegation will be led by Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, who will handle the diplomatic and political side of the talks, while Brigadier General Amichai Levin, head of the Strategic Division in the IDF Planning Directorate, will lead separate military meetings. Lebanon’s team will be headed by Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Maawad alongside former ambassador to Washington Simon Karam.
A central issue in the talks will be a proposed pilot programme under which the Lebanese Armed Forces would begin deploying to selected areas in southern Lebanon and dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure there.
Pilot plan exposes dispute over where disarmament begins
However, the two sides remain divided over where the pilot phase should start. Lebanese officials want the first deployment to take place in areas currently under Israeli military control, with Israeli troops withdrawing as the Lebanese army moves in.
Israel, by contrast, wants the first stage to begin in an area where its forces are not currently deployed. Israeli officials say they first want proof that the Lebanese army can disarm Hezbollah and remove its infrastructure in a clearly defined zone before any broader Israeli withdrawal takes place.
US-backed Lebanon mechanism adds pressure to negotiations
The talks come amid renewed diplomatic involvement by Iran in Lebanon following the latest US-Iran negotiations in Switzerland. At the end of those discussions, Washington and Tehran agreed to establish a deconfliction cell involving Lebanon to prevent further military operations there.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun discussed the mechanism on Monday with Jared Kushner, US Vice President JD Vance and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Still, some Lebanese officials have privately questioned why Washington is facilitating renewed Iranian involvement after months of efforts to reduce Tehran’s influence.
Officials also fear Hezbollah may use Iran’s return to the process as a reason to resist any disarmament steps unless Israel first completes a full withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
