The ongoing trilateral talks between the US, Lebanon and Israel are, as ever, accomplishing comparatively little. Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, seeking progress.
Salam said it was important for the US to support “tangible results on the ground,” including steps toward an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the restoration of Lebanese sovereignty.
The US, for its part, continued to complain that the Lebanese aren’t doing enough to forcibly disarm Hezbollah, and that Israel would continue to occupy southern Lebanon until the country showed more commitment to that agenda.
Smoke rises in Mansouri following Israeli explosions reported by Lebanon’s state news agency NNA as seen from Hinniyeh, southern Lebanon, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The Lebanese government has agreed to disarm Hezbollah, but actually accomplishing that is something no one seems able to achieve, and Lebanon has noted that the ongoing Israeli aggression is limiting their ability to even access Hezbollah’s southern territory to even attempt it.
The various positions of the parties seem almost to assure this continued situation. Israel has refused to even consider committing to withdraw from Lebanon, and Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri said he believes only the insistence of the US could compel Israel to do so. The US, however, has shown no willingness to object to the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, and is more inclined to denounce the Lebanese for failing to give in to Israel’s demands.
Hezbollah, for its part, has said they don’t intend to disarm, and won’t even discuss that possibility until Lebanon isn’t under active invasion and Lebanese territory isn’t facing ongoing military occupation by Israel. They argue they’re effectively the only ones resisting the conquest.
The status quo isn’t merely an inconvenience, however. Israel is actively wiping out municipalities in southern Lebanon and large scale demolitions are, unsurprisingly not being done with tremendous care, leaving ancient architecture in the line of military bulldozers and artillery shelling, erasing buildings that are in many cases centuries old.
