Israel, Lebanon ‘leaders’ to hold rare talks on Thursday: Trump

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The “leaders” of Israel and Lebanon are set to hold talks on Thursday, US President Donald Trump stated, just days after delegations from the two sides held high-level talks in Washington, in the first such engagement in decades.

“Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow [Thursday]," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, without naming specifying which leaders he meant in part.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday remarked that there are “two central goals” to the talks with Lebanon, “disarming of Hezbollah” and achieving “a sustainable peace. Peace through strength.”

Israel and Lebanon held their first high-level direct peace talks in more than 30 years on Monday, with the US, which mediated the meeting, describing the discussions as “productive.”

“The participants held productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon,” said Thomas Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the State Department, in a statement on Tuesday.

“The United States expressed its hope that talks can exceed the scope of the 2024 agreement and bring about a comprehensive peace deal,” added the statement, noting that the Israeli delegation expressed its support for disarming “all non-state terror groups” and the Lebanese one reaffirming “the urgent need for the full implementation of the cessation of hostilities announcement of November 2024.”

The trilateral meeting, convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department, included the Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter.

The diplomatic push in Washington came as a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, came into effect following nearly 40 days of conflict.

Implementation of the truce proved highly contentious amid disagreements over its scope, particularly whether it extended to Lebanon or was limited strictly to direct military engagements involving Iran.

“The United States affirmed that any agreement to cease hostilities must be reached between the two governments, brokered by the United States, and not through any separate track,” Pigott said.