Joseph Aoun Says Lebanon’s Israel Talks in Washington Are Separate From US-Iran Deal

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told reporters that Lebanon welcomed support from any country, including Iran, to help secure an end to hostilities, while insisting that his country’s negotiations with Israel in Washington are separate from the US-Iran deal.

Aoun said, “The Lebanese state is sovereign in its decision-making, and for the first time, it is the one conducting the negotiations, and nobody is negotiating for us,” as Lebanon and Israel have held direct talks in Washington since April to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Al-Manar TV Lebanon

He also expressed hope that next week’s fifth round of talks “will be more positive, particularly considering the US administration’s great interest in Lebanon,” and said he was “reassur[ing] the Lebanese that nobody is tying us to any other country.”

The Arab Weekly reported that Hezbollah on Monday thanked Tehran for insisting Lebanon be included in the agreement with Washington and hailed Tehran’s “victory” over the US, after the group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel.

The same report said Israeli strikes on the south have killed at least five people since the US-Iran deal was announced, and Lebanese state media reported fresh Israeli air strikes and artillery fire in several southern towns throughout Wednesday.

Hezbollah’s posture toward the US-Iran deal and the Lebanon-Israel talks was framed through Tehran’s role, with the Arab Weekly saying Hezbollah thanked its backer Tehran for insisting Lebanon be included in the agreement with Washington and hailed Tehran’s “victory” over the US.

In a separate account, VOI.ID reported Aoun’s position that “Lebanon's path in negotiations is separate, although we of course support the ceasefire and any country that helps us, including Iran,” while adding that “interference in Lebanese affairs is not allowed.”

AP News

VOI.ID said violence has decreased in Lebanon after the US-Iranian deal was announced, but Israeli attacks in the south have killed at least five people since then, according to state media.

The Arab Weekly added that Israel later said five of its soldiers had been injured in two Hezbollah drone attacks in southern Lebanon, and that Lebanese security sources said Hezbollah had also launched two drone attacks on Israeli forces in the south.

It also reported that the G7 leaders called for an “immediate robust ceasefire” in Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah, while Israel said it would not withdraw and reserves the right to use military force.

Beyond the diplomacy around Aoun and the US-Iran deal, L’Orient-Le Jour reported that MP Paula Yacoubian called on Lebanon to join the Rome Statute and recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the death of journalist Amal Khalil in Tiri.

Yacoubian denounced the killing on X as “a 'war crime'” and said, “The targeting of journalist Amal Khalil is a war crime that adds to Israel’s heavy record of killing journalists,” while the Minister of Information Paul Morcos wrote on X that “The targeting of journalists is a proven crime and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”

L’Orient-Le Jour said Lebanon and Israel have not joined the ICC, created in 2002 by the Rome Statute, and that in the absence of accession the ICC prosecutor cannot open an investigation that could lead to prosecutions or arrest warrants.

The outlet also quoted the Civil Defense as saying its teams had “succeeded in recovering the body of the journalist Amal Khalil, martyred following an enemy strike that targeted a house in the town of Tiri,” and said search and rescue operations were conducted in the presence of the Lebanese Army and the Lebanese Red Cross.

In the same report, it noted that on October 13, 2023, an air strike near the village of Alma el-Chaab killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded six other reporters, including Carmen Joukhadar of Al Jazeera.