Lebanese president discusses Israel truce with senior US, Qatari officials

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun spoke with senior US and Qatari officials on Monday about consolidating a ceasefire in Lebanon and forming a “de-confliction cell”, his office said, after US-Iran negotiations in Switzerland.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel in support of Iran, has repeatedly threatened to derail regional peace efforts.

After a first round of talks in Switzerland on ending the regional conflict, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said on Monday that Tehran and Washington had agreed to set up a “de-confliction cell” with Lebanon “to ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations” there.

Aoun received “a telephone call from US Vice President JD Vance, senior adviser to the US president Jared Kushner, and the Qatari Prime Minister” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a statement from the Lebanese presidency said.

They discussed “the issue of consolidating the ceasefire in Lebanon, stopping the Israeli military escalation, and steps that should be taken in this regard, including the possibility of forming a cell for this purpose”, the statement added.

After the talks in Switzerland, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X: “1st real test: Lebanon deconfliction cell.”

The talks came after Washington and Tehran last week signed a memorandum of understanding to end the broader Middle East war that includes “an immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.

Israeli strikes and clashes with Hezbollah late last week threatened to derail the deal, but fighting in Lebanon has been paused since Saturday evening, after Iran said it had closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israel’s attacks.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon “as long as necessary”, while Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem rejected any Israeli “security zone” inside Lebanon.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces had standing orders to act against any threat they encountered inside Lebanon.

Israel also said all war-related restrictions in its northern border areas were lifted from Monday morning.

The developments come ahead of a fifth round of direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington set to begin on Tuesday.

Lebanese authorities are seeking the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the country and have sought to separate the negotiations from the US-Iran deal, to determine the future of ties between the two nations after decades of hostilities.