Rubio urges Lebanon to not return confiscated explosives to Hezbollah, US official says
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding a plane at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport near Athens, Greece, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Mark... Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab Read more WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun about the confiscation of hundreds of kilograms of explosives from Hezbollah, a US State Department official said on Thursday. Rubio urged Aoun to hold accountable those who ordered, financed and directed the shipment, and "underscored that returning explosives to (Hezbollah) should be out of the question," the US official said. Sign up here. Rubio urged direct military-to-military communication between Lebanese and Israeli forces "for deconfliction," the official added. A Hezbollah lawmaker said earlier the explosives seized last week by Lebanese security forces belonged to his group. The lawmaker, Hassan Fadlallah, said Hezbollah had intended to use the explosives against Israel, whose troops are occupying swathes of Lebanese territory seized in this year's war. A Hezbollah official and a Lebanese security source told Reuters the explosives seized in a car last week were intended to be used in explosive drones targeting Israeli troops. Aoun told Rubio the Lebanese army and security forces were fully carrying out decisions to prevent armed displays, confiscate weapons and combat smuggling, the presidency said, adding Aoun asked Rubio to pressure Israel to halt attacks on southern Lebanese towns and villages. On March 2, the Lebanese government specifically banned Hezbollah's military activities after the movement launched rockets at Israel to back up Tehran, pulling Lebanon into the broader US-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28. Tehran subsequently launched its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the war have killed thousands and displaced millions . Under a deal reached through US-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks, Beirut vowed to disarm Hezbollah, which would in turn lead to Israeli troops gradually withdrawing from Lebanon. But Hezbollah has refused to disarm as long as Israeli forces remain on Lebanese land and Israel has continued striking southern Lebanon. Adds Rubio urging direct communication at military level, comments from Hezbollah lawmaker and Lebanese president's office, and background from paragraphs 3-10 Reporting by Simon Lewis and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Suggested Topics: Middle East X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights Kanishka Singh Thomson Reuters Kanishka Singh is a breaking news reporter for Reuters in Washington DC, who primarily covers US politics and national affairs in his current role. His past breaking news coverage has spanned across a range of topics like the Black Lives Matter movement; the US elections; the 2021 Capitol riots and their follow up probes; the Brexit deal; US-China trade tensions; the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan; the COVID-19 pandemic; and a 2019 Supreme Court verdict on a religious dispute site in his native India. Email X