US doubles down on urging Lebanese president to meet Netanyahu, unfazed by his refusal

Washington says direct engagement is best way to swiftly advance peace and security deals, after Aoun said agreements must precede meeting; Rubio: Peace ‘imminently achievable’ but Hezbollah ‘the problem’

The United States appeared unmoved on Tuesday by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s rejection of its efforts to facilitate a meeting between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Washington doubling down on its call for high-level engagement between the two leaders as it seeks to advance a joint effort aimed at disarming Hezbollah.

“President Trump has been clear that direct engagement between the two countries is the best way to swiftly advance a lasting peace and security agreement,” a State Department official said in a statement sent to querying reporters.

“Diplomacy is ongoing, and we will not comment on our ongoing discussions with the two countries,” the official continued, apparently referencing reports that the US was working to schedule a third round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington next week.

“Hezbollah is still trying to derail negotiations with attacks on Israel and threats inside of Lebanon,” the State Department official said. “We are working to create the conditions and political momentum needed to move this forward.”

The US has been pushing for a meeting between Netanyahu and Aoun for weeks, with President Donald Trump claiming on April 15 the two leaders would speak on the phone the next day — a call that never ended up happening. When he announced a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah the next day, Trump then claimed that the two leaders would meet at the White House in the next week or two.

While Aoun’s government is the first in decades to express a desire to curb Hezbollah’s influence in the country, the Iran-backed terror group still wields significant influence in Lebanon, and a relatively weak Beirut is trying to act without sparking another civil war with the roughly one-third of the country’s population that is Shiite.

Accordingly, Aoun quietly pushed back on US calls for him to meet Netanyahu in person, particularly while Israeli forces continue to occupy a six-mile buffer zone in southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces has been razing homes in almost every Lebanese village along the northern border, saying they have been used to either store Hezbollah weapons or that they can be used to target Israel. The demolitions have created scenes reminiscent of the destruction in Gaza, sparking growing international outcry.

Israel says the buffer zone is necessary to protect northern communities from Hezbollah attacks, while critics of the policy argue it legitimizes the terror group, which claims to be acting to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Israeli forces have been coming under constant Hezbollah drone fire in southern Lebanon, where the IDF withdrew from a similar buffer zone over two decades ago after nearly two decades

While fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon has continued, the ceasefire announced by Trump in mid-April has largely held in Beirut and much of the rest of the country.

The US announced an extension of the ceasefire at the second ambassador-level meeting between Israel and Lebanon, which Trump joined at the White House on April 23. The first meeting was held two weeks earlier and was the highest-level engagement between the two countries in decades

The sides have been discussing a framework for an eventual peace deal that would see Israel withdraw from Lebanon, an empowered Lebanon disarm Hezbollah, and Jerusalem and Beirut normalizing relations.

Aoun: Security deal must come before Netanyahu meeting

The US has argued that a meeting between Netanyahu and Aoun would help build momentum toward that effort, but the Lebanese president on Monday pushed back on high-level engagement as he faces threats from Hezbollah.

“We must first reach a security agreement and stop the Israeli attacks on us before we raise the issue of a meeting between us,” Aoun’s office said in a statement.

Aoun “reiterated his view that the timing is not appropriate now for a meeting” with Netanyahu, the statement said.

The statement from Aoun’s office said a third round of “preparatory talks” was expected “in the coming days.”

Last week, the US embassy in Beirut called for such a meeting, saying that “Lebanon stands at a crossroads. Its people have a historic opportunity to reclaim their country and shape their future,” adding that “the time for hesitation is over.”

Aoun said, “There is no turning back from the path of negotiations, because we have no other option,” according to the statement from his office, which reiterated that his aim is for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

Earlier Monday, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa told journalists that “to me, if the president (Aoun) visited President Trump, there is no loss.”

Aoun “can go and present his decisions clearly” to Trump and Netanyahu, and after returning to Lebanon, “we can begin negotiations. I don’t know why people consider this a loss or concession,” Issa said.

Aoun “will go to present all Lebanon’s demands, most importantly the sovereignty of its lands,” Issa said, noting full Lebanese territorial sovereignty was a key Hezbollah demand.

Israeli strikes have killed almost 2,700 people in Lebanon since Hezbollah sparked the latest war by attacking Israel in solidarity with Iran, including dozens since the ceasefire, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The Israeli military has said that it has killed over 1,900 Hezbollah operatives, including hundreds of members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, since the escalation of hostilities.

Rubio: Israel-Lebanon peace deal ‘imminently achievable,’ but for Hezbollah

Asked about the status of the talks on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a peace deal between Israel and Lebanon is “imminently achievable,” while accusing Hezbollah of playing spoiler.

“By and large, I think a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is imminently achievable, and should be,” Rubio said during a White House press briefing. “The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon, it’s Hezbollah.”

“The reason why Lebanon gets attacked by Israel is that Hezbollah is… launching rockets against Israelis,” he argued.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that both sides continue to talk so the progress can be made on some sort of permanent ceasefire that isn’t constantly spoiled by Hezbollah,” Rubio added.

German FM offers qualified support for Israeli buffer zone in Lebanon

Also Tuesday, Germany’s foreign minister offered qualified support for Israel’s buffer zone in Lebanon while hosting his Israeli counterpart in Berlin, also criticizing humanitarian conditions in Gaza and “de facto annexation” in the West Bank.

Johann Wadephul underscored Germany’s staunch support for Israel after a meeting with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar but said close alliances would not “avoid difficult topics.”

Sa’ar defended the continued fighting, arguing that Israel needed to destroy Hezbollah and other terror groups operating in the area who have launched attacks on Israel.

But Sa’ar said he offered Wadephul assurances that “Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon.”

“Our presence in the areas by our northern border has one goal: to protect our citizens,” Sa’ar said.

Wadephul endorsed that stance, calling Israel’s ongoing invasion “necessary.”

“There’s every right for Israel to be there,” Wadephul said.

But Wadephul also warned that “Lebanon must not be allowed to become a theater of war where it is the civilians who pay the price” and said that “a younger generation growing up amidst the ruins of their parents’ homes” would not make Israel any safer.

Wadephul condemned Hezbollah attacks on Israel “in the strongest possible terms” and said direct talks between Israel and the Lebanese government offer “hope.”

AFP contributed to this report.