Wednesday 15 / April / 2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday encouraged Israel and Lebanon to seize what he called a "historic opportunity" for peace as both countries' ambassadors to the US met for the first face-to-face diplomatic talks since 1993.
"The hope today," said Rubio, "is that we can outline a framework upon which a current and lasting peace can be developed."
The US is pushing ally Israel to wrap up military operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon so that it can concentrate on bringing an end to the war the US and Israel launched against Iran on February 28.
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday expressed hope that the talks would "mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people."
Thousands of Lebanese citizens have been killed, thousands more injured and over a million have been displaced since the conflict began. There has been much discussion over whether Lebanon should be part of a two-week ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran.
Hezbollah has rejected all dialog with Israel and reportedly stepped up attacks on northern Israel as Tuesday's talks got underway.
Israel and Lebanon 'on the same side' versus Hezbollah
In a statement to reporters after Tuesday's historic talks between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said: "We discovered today that we're on the same side of the equation. That's the most positive thing we could have come away with."
Leiter said both sides want to see the destruction of the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
"The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah," said Leiter, who added, "Iran has been weakened. Hezbollah is dramatically weakened. This is an opportunity."
Leiter praised his Lebanese counterparts for their cooperation despite pressure from Hezbollah to boycott.
Leiter highlighted several areas of consensus but made clear that Israel needs to see Lebanon "completely" separate itself from Tehran and Hezbollah.
'Historic opportunity' for peace as Israel, Lebanon hold talks in US
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday encouraged Israel and Lebanon to seize what he called a "historic opportunity" for peace as both countries' ambassadors to the US met for the first face-to-face diplomatic talks since 1993.
"The hope today," said Rubio, "is that we can outline a framework upon which a current and lasting peace can be developed."
The US is pushing ally Israel to wrap up military operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon so that it can concentrate on bringing an end to the war the US and Israel launched against Iran on February 28.
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday expressed hope that the talks would "mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people."
Thousands of Lebanese citizens have been killed, thousands more injured and over a million have been displaced since the conflict began. There has been much discussion over whether Lebanon should be part of a two-week ceasefire between the
United States, Israel and Iran.
Hezbollah has rejected all dialog with Israel and reportedly stepped up attacks on northern Israel as Tuesday's talks got underway.
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