Lebanese and Israeli representatives are expected to meet at the State Department next week for talks mediated by the United States, aimed at calming cross-border violence involving Israel and the Hezbollah group, a State Department official told CBS News.
Two sources familiar with the planning, along with one Lebanese official, stated that the goal of the meeting is to explore how to initiate direct negotiations focused on reducing tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michael Issa will lead the talks, together with Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, according to sources.
Lebanon has proven to be one of the most complicated issues in diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is expected to join upcoming talks in Islamabad, accused the U.S. of allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to kill diplomacy.
Multiple diplomatic sources told CBS that President Trump was told the ceasefire would apply to the Middle East region and agreed that it includes Lebanon.
Mediators believed the ceasefire covered Lebanon, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that this was the case. The Iranian foreign minister also said Lebanon was included. On the day the ceasefire took effect, a White House official told CBS News that Israel had also agreed to the terms of the deal that Pakistan helped mediate.
However, the U.S. position changed after a phone call between Netanyahu and Trump. Two sources familiar with the situation told CBS News that shifting U.S. stances and inconsistencies within Iranian authorities make diplomacy extremely complex.
Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Wednesday that there was a "legitimate misunderstanding" regarding the ceasefire terms but blamed the Iranians for misinterpreting that it included their proxy forces in Lebanon.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said he had agreed to allow Israeli diplomats to accept the Lebanese government's request to hold talks. He did not provide details and insisted there was no ceasefire in Lebanon.
But Vance also pointed to the U.S. desire for Israel to scale back its offensive in Lebanon. As he noted, Israel offered to "show some restraint in Lebanon."
Vance has emerged as one of the key leaders in diplomacy with Iran. He was the highest-ranking U.S. official to meet with Omani mediators who unsuccessfully attempted to reach a deal to prevent U.S. and Israeli attacks that sparked the war on February 28. Special U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner have twice led diplomatic rounds with Iran over the past ten months, but those efforts were cut short by U.S. military action.
Multiple diplomatic sources told CBS News that Iran particularly welcomed Vance's involvement due to distrust of Witkoff and Kushner. Two sources told CBS News that it was actually Witkoff who suggested involving the vice president.