Israel’s ambassador to the United States delivered a sharp warning Tuesday as Israeli and Lebanese officials sat down in Washington for a fifth round of negotiations, saying the talks have veered away from the principles that brought both sides to the table in the first place.
Ambassador Yechiel Leiter voiced serious concern that discussions once centered on eliminating Hezbollah as a military force and driving out Iranian influence from Lebanon have grown increasingly murky in recent weeks.
Speaking directly to reporters at the start of Tuesday’s session, Leiter pulled no punches in describing where things stand.
“We are in a train wreck,” he said.
The ambassador recalled that the first four rounds of talks had been grounded in a shared vision among Israel, Lebanon, and the United States, with Washington taking the lead in pushing toward concrete security arrangements and a broader peace framework between the two neighboring nations.
“Before four rounds, we all boarded the same train, with the United States serving as the locomotive,” Leiter said. “The train was heading toward a very clear destination: full peace and security between the countries; the removal of Iran and its malicious influence from Lebanon; the dismantling of Hezbollah.”
Leiter said recent shifts in the tone and focus of the negotiations have cast doubt on whether those goals are still firmly on the table.
“The basic assumption was that Iran was out, and that the central discussion concerned Lebanon and Hezbollah — not the question of how much Iran can restrain Hezbollah,” he said.
In Leiter’s view, the talks should be about building up Lebanese sovereignty, not handing Tehran any role in determining what happens inside Lebanon.
“It is not Iran’s role. Its role is to leave Lebanon. The role of the Lebanese government is to exercise its sovereignty,” he said. “Sovereignty means that Iran will no longer be involved in activity or malicious influence in Lebanon.”
The ambassador also pushed back on the growing use of the term “deconfliction” — a concept being discussed between the United States and Iran as it relates to Lebanon — suggesting it signals a troubling shift in priorities.
Leiter said Israel urgently needs a clearer picture of where the negotiations are actually headed and whether dismantling Hezbollah is still at the heart of the discussions.
“Is the dismantling of Hezbollah still the basis of these discussions? Because from our perspective it must remain so,” he said.
