Israel has again struck southern Lebanon amid the ongoing US-mediated talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv in Rome. "Events on the ground" led to the abrupt, early suspension of the negotiating session yesterday afternoon. According to a US State Department source cited by Axios, however, the "extremely productive" discussions will resume this morning as scheduled. A rupture, therefore, but not a real breakdown in the talks, which are once again being hosted by Italy after the first round in July.
During the day, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani met with Israeli and Lebanese negotiators, American mediators, and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. In addition to discussing the Strait of Hormuz, Araghchi previewed some of the diplomatic proposals Tehran intends to advance regarding the Lebanese issue, the Farnesina announced. For his part, Tajani emphasized that "Iran's role is crucial in stopping Hezbollah's military actions" against Israel and reiterated that "Italy will continue to do its part to promote dialogue and stability" in the region.
An alleged "violation of the ceasefire agreement" by Hezbollah triggered the Israeli response in southern Lebanon, preceded by an IDF evacuation order for the population of the village of Mansouri, issued for the first time in several weeks. Earlier, Lebanese media also reported heavy shelling in the Nabatieh area. According to the ANI news agency, one person was killed and eleven were injured in an Israeli strike that hit "the roof of a prayer hall in the cemetery" of Tebnine.
According to the American source cited by Axios, it was precisely this escalation that led to the interruption of the Rome talks. According to an Israeli source cited by the Times of Israel, however, it was Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, who asked the American mediators to suspend the discussions after accusing the Lebanese delegation of "repeatedly spreading false information to the Lebanese media."
Both sources, however, assured that talks will resume as normal this morning. Before the unexpected interruption, Lebanese sources cited by Al Arabiya had spoken of "progress in all negotiations with Israel," including "the border issue," adding that Beirut "has requested the renewal and strengthening of the truce for eight weeks or 60 days."
According to Axios, the technical teams have also made progress on implementing the "Trilateral Framework," the agreement reached in Washington in June that includes, among other points, the disarmament of Hezbollah, the withdrawal of the IDF from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of Beirut's armed forces to fully restore state sovereignty throughout the country.
(Unioneonline)