Four days of Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington were complicated by a deal between the US and Iran, Axios reported Sunday, citing officials.
The report said the US aimed to reduce Hezbollah's and Iran's influence in Lebanon. However, officials on all sides acknowledged that the agreement's broader vision of peace might never be fully realized.
The negotiations were complicated by recent US-Iran understandings reached in Switzerland, the report said.
Iran secured a memorandum supporting a ceasefire and Lebanon's territorial integrity, alongside plans for a new "deconfliction cell" involving Lebanese, Pakistani, and Qatari mediators.
Israeli and Lebanese officials viewed the arrangement as strengthening Hezbollah and legitimizing Iran's role. At the opening session, Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter called the new US-Iran understandings on Lebanon "a train wreck."
Lebanese officials also sought clarification, with one source saying, "The Lebanese were on their heels." Although US mediators insisted the goal was an Israeli-Lebanese agreement free of outside interference, a US official admitted the first day was "pretty ugly."
Negotiations continued on separate political and security tracks, focusing on a framework agreement, a security annex, and Israeli withdrawals from two pilot zones.
After progress on Wednesday, talks stalled on Thursday over withdrawal terms, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to seek more time.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and senior US officials intensified efforts, stressing President Donald Trump's desire to finalize a deal by the end of the week.
The US proposed asked Israel for two changes to the text, including an Israeli withdrawal from a village in southern Lebanon currently under Israeli occupation and a clear statement that this would mark the beginning of a broader process of redeployment out of Lebanon.
This sparked a heated call in which Ambassador Leiter urged Netanyahu to accept the changes. He later said consultations were "customary" and disagreements were "natural," the report said.
"During one of the update calls, a professional, substantive, and at times sharp discussion took place, during which a range of views was heard regarding the best way to maximize the achievements of the negotiations while fully safeguarding Israel's vital interests," he added.
Despite deep mistrust, one source said: "There wasn't a lot of trust between Israel and Lebanon, but eventually both parties understood they needed to get a deal in order to keep control of the process and not allow Iran in."
