Lebanon and Israel Resume Negotiations in Rome as Regional Tensions Rise

BEIRUT: Lebanon and Israel are engaged in fresh talks in Rome under U.S. mediation on Tuesday, set against a backdrop of heightened friction between Washington and Tehran.
Although the two nations have technically been at war for decades, they reached a framework accord on June 26 after five rounds of discussions in Washington, intended to halt hostilities between Israel and Iran‑backed Hezbollah and lay groundwork for a lasting peace.
Hezbollah, however, opposes the deal, which mandates its disarmament and envisions an initial Israeli pull‑back from two designated “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese presidency said on Monday that its delegation to Rome has been directed “to insist on an immediate Israeli withdrawal from the two pilot zones before any further negotiations proceed.”
A Lebanese diplomatic source familiar with the talks noted, “the Lebanese army stands ready to assume control of the localities from which Israeli forces will pull back.”
“Israel is prepared to withdraw in stages,” said Orna Mizrahi, an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, speaking to AFP’s Jerusalem bureau, “provided that Hezbollah maintains no presence in the areas Israel vacates.”
She added that Israel also wants assurance “that the Lebanese army can sustain these zones as neutral territory, preventing Hezbollah from re‑entering.”
A U.S. military team began consultations with the Lebanese army in Beirut on Saturday regarding the procedure for Israeli withdrawal from one of the pilot zones.
– Limited prospects –
The framework agreement followed a tenuous cease‑fire in the Hezbollah‑Israel conflict.
Nevertheless, Israeli forces have continued limited strikes in the south and have carried out demolitions in occupied villages, according to Lebanese official media.
Israeli strikes and ground operations have resulted in more than 4,300 fatalities since fighting began in early March, per Lebanese authorities.
“The odds of a breakthrough in Rome are slim,” remarked Karim Bitar, a lecturer at Sciences Po Paris, to AFP.
“We are more likely to witness a demonstration that the diplomatic channel remains active, despite growing opposition and emerging obstacles,” he continued.
Tehran had urged a cease‑fire in Lebanon to facilitate a memorandum of understanding with Washington on June 17.
Yet the region has experienced a fresh escalation in recent days, with the United States conducting a third straight night of strikes against Iran ahead of the planned re‑imposition of its naval blockade on Iranian ports on Tuesday.
Iran seeks to tie negotiations over the broader regional conflict to the Lebanon track, “but we prefer to keep them separate,” Mizrahi of INSS observed.
She noted that Tehran’s current focus lies on the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear dossier.
“The Iranians are invoking Lebanon as a pretext; they will continually use it as an excuse,” she said.
Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the regional confrontation on March 2 by firing rockets into Israel in support of Iran.
Bitar added that the danger of major hostilities returning to Lebanon because of the regional escalation “is certainly not negligible.”
“However, I believe Iran will think twice before urging Hezbollah to launch new attacks on Israel,” he said.
Tehran “wishes to retain Hezbollah as a long‑term deterrent and does not intend to employ it immediately to open a new front,” he concluded.

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