The meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to Washington has wrapped up after roughly two hours at the State Department.
The US brokered the direct talks between Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh.
No date for a follow-up meeting has been set.
A State Department official says today’s meeting had been planned for a month, before last weekend’s Iran talks were held in Islamabad.
“As the president has made clear, there is no link between the negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad and the Israel-Lebanon talks,” the State Department official says.
“Iran dragged the Lebanese people into a war so it cannot pretend to be Lebanon’s protector,” the official continues. “Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that does not deserve a place. It must be fully disarmed and the United States supports that goal. Iran will not be allowed to dictate the future of Lebanon any more. These talks are part of that effort.”
