PM Netanyahu announces peace talks with Lebanon under US pressure, as Washington fears derailment of Iran ceasefire

Following heavy pressure from the United States to tone down Israeli strikes against the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon in order not to endanger ceasefire talks with Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday that direct negotiations with Beirut are set to begin “as soon as possible.”

Iran had threatened to blow up the temporary two-week ceasefire and boycott talks set for Friday in Pakistan over the IDF's continued strikes, arguing that the agreement was meant to include Lebanon as well.

In a statement to northern Israel's residents, Netanyahu stressed that there is “no ceasefire in Lebanon” as the IDF continued striking Hezbollah “with full force.”

He said that negotiations with Lebanon came after “repeated requests” from Beirut, and would aim to bring about the “disarming of Hezbollah” and “a historic, sustainable peace agreement.”

Despite Netanyahu’s assurances, Army Radio cited a senior Israeli official saying that Israel is “expected to scale back” operations in Lebanon.

Several media outlets reported that the U.S. had pressured Israel to reduce tensions on the Lebanon front in order not to jeopardize the Iran talks.

🔎LOCATED: A shaft leading to underground infrastructure, including a cache of weapons, including explosives, rockets, an RPG launcher and grenades.

Additionally, the IDF:
• Eliminated 70 + terrorists, including a terrorist cell that had planned to carry out mortar fire toward… pic.twitter.com/IENBecBJkc

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 9, 2026

The Wall Street Journal reported that, on Wednesday ,U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a “stern” message to Netanyahu in a shorter-than-usual phone call between the two leaders.

Speaking with NBC, Trump confirmed the call, saying Israel would “scale back” its operations in Lebanon. “I spoke with Bibi and he’s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,” Trump said.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said earlier during his visit to Hungary, “The Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn't. We never made that promise,” adding that, if Iran were to withdraw from the talks over Lebanon, “that would be dumb but that's their choice.”

“That said, the Israelis have actually offered to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful. That's not because that is part of the ceasefire. I think that's the Israelis trying to set us up for success,” Vance added.

The IDF says it has destroyed more than 200 Hezbollah rocket launchers and killed over 250 members of the terror group's artillery units since the start of the fighting in Lebanon.

According to the IDF, the 200 launchers included some 1,300 separate launch barrels.

Among the… pic.twitter.com/xD7JIMgpLX

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 10, 2026

The talks between Beirut and Jerusalem are reportedly set to begin next week in the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. The delegations will reportedly be led by the respective ambassadors to the U.S., with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa as the mediator.

The Lebanese government had pushed to be included in the ceasefire with Iran, with President Joseph Aoun stressing it would be the only solution to the current situation, in addition to direct negotiations. Direct talks with Israel have long been considered taboo in Lebanese politics, and Hezbollah officials quickly rejected the negotiations out of hand.

A senior Lebanese official told Reuters that Lebanon had lobbied for a temporary ceasefire to allow for talks with Israel, saying this would be a “separate track but the same model” as the U.S.-Iran truce and talks.

On Thursday, Aoun said that the Lebanese proposal had begun receiving positive responses from various countries. French President Emmanuel Macron had strongly criticized Israel’s strikes against Hezbollah in recent days, among several other leaders.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon is the military's "primary combat zone."

"The IDF is in a state of war, we are not in a ceasefire. We continue to fight here in this sector, this is our primary combat zone," he said during a… pic.twitter.com/r2VbWqLaVg

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 10, 2026

However, Kan News reported that, despite the Lebanese government’s effort to link negotiations with Israel to a ceasefire, some factions opposed to Hezbollah support engaging in talks even without one. These include parties such as the Christian Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party, according to a political source from one of the governing parties who spoke to Kan.

The source said that Netanyahu’s announcement of direct talks weakened Iran’s ability to use the Lebanese front as leverage in negotiations with the United States, while also embarrassing Hezbollah, which has consistently opposed any official contact with Israel.

The source added that the Lebanese government has limited options other than to proceed with the talks, even in the absence of a ceasefire.

In addition, the Lebanese government on Thursday made the unprecedented declaration that it wants to establish its monopoly on weapons in the capital of Beirut, intending to disarm Hezbollah forces there.

In his statement, Netanyahu noted: “Israel appreciates the call made today by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut.”

After a cabinet session, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced that he had instructed the army to establish “the state's full control over the Beirut Governorate and confining arms within it to the legitimate forces alone.”

He also said he would complain about Israel’s “aggressions” to the UN Security Council. Lebanese journalist Hasan Illaik later claimed on 𝕏 that, despite Salam’s public statement, behind the scenes, he blamed Hezbollah for Israel’s strikes in the capital.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir toured the outskirts of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon earlier today, where the military has been battling Hezbollah operatives.

"Our main combat arena is here in Lebanon. The objective defined for you is the removal of the direct threat to… pic.twitter.com/YMy50DlVJQ

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 9, 2026

Illaik argued that when Salam was defending the decision to demilitarize Beirut against allegations made by some ministers that this would appear to “justify Israeli crimes,” the prime minister responded, “No strike has ever happened without a reason.”

Illaik also tied this to a report in the Beirut Times that he said “is run by someone close to Salam,” and reported he “revealed that the sites targeted by the Israeli army yesterday in Beirut are places where the Party [Hezbollah] stores weapons or where Party officials are present.”

On Friday, the Lebanese MTV channel reported that the intense Israeli strikes in Beirut on Wednesday killed several members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who were responsible for overseeing and directing Hezbollah’s combat operations.