Yasin Güngör
03 June 2026•Update: 03 June 2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed optimism Wednesday that negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington could soon yield a formal security agreement.
He confirmed that representatives from both nations are meeting for a second consecutive day at the State Department.
“Hopefully, today we'll produce a joint statement and an action plan on a track for security in that country,” Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rubio said US support for Israel is aligned with its assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces, as Washington seeks to empower Beirut's military. He emphasized that the goal is building a Lebanese force with the "strength and the capability to disarm Hezbollah and reclaim the entirety of the country."
He described Hezbollah as a challenge not only to Israel but to the Lebanese state and its people. “We are hopeful that we can create a paradigm in which Lebanon's government and Israel can work together to disarm Hezbollah and allow the people of Lebanon to reclaim its country,” he said.
The US-sponsored talks follow weeks of near-daily Israeli strikes that have killed nearly 3,500 people since March 2, despite a ceasefire that took effect April 17 and was later extended until early July.
The conflict recently saw an escalation as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered troops to deepen the incursion and called for strikes on Beirut. Netanyahu, however, was restrained after a tense phone exchange with US President Donald Trump, who called him crazy.
