Middle East
Israel wants US-led force to disarm Lebanon's Hezbollah
Lebanon prefers the UN to continue to provide peacekeeping functions at the fraught southern border but its mandate expires in three months
September 28, 2026
Lebanon prefers the UN to continue to provide peacekeeping functions at the fraught southern border but its mandate expires in three months
US aid is allowing IDF to systematically blow up villages, spray herbicide, shoot white phosphorus — making the land uninhabitable in the south
Sources inside the group are being coy about negotiating directly, while Israel and Iran have their own reasons to keep the calls from getting through
Officials in Beirut know that any agreement with Israel would be dead on arrival at home
Forcing a hard wedge against the country's Shia is exactly what Israel wants, but it could imperil a wide range of US interests in the Middle East
The ambassador also says Washington will build a permanent embassy in Jerusalem
