US pushes to resolve Hezbollah disarmament by year's end

BEIRUT — Lebanon has received, through the U.S. Embassy, feedback regarding the response it sent to American envoy Tom Barrack on the disarmament of Hezbollah, according to information obtained by L'Orient Today.

The U.S. Embassy sent Lebanon "ideas" in response to the Lebanese reply to Barrack's roadmap, and "the exchange of ideas is ongoing," according to a source familiar with the negotiations. According to our information, the Americans want the issue of Hezbollah's weapons to be closed by the end of the year.

Read more about Washington's response

Despite Barrack’s bonhomie, Washington remains dissatisfied with Lebanon’s response

The question of disarmament remains at the heart of Lebanese and international political debates, especially after the more than year-long war between Hezbollah and Israel. American envoy Tom Barrack traveled to Beirut last week to promote Washington's "roadmap" for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

American sources involved in the case told L'Orient Today that the Trump administration has expressed its disappointment with the Lebanese response, while acknowledging that this is only a starting point for a negotiation that, according to Washington, cannot last indefinitely.

On substance, Washington reproaches the Lebanese document for dodging the essentials: the text only mentions the south of the Litani River, with no timetable or clear roadmap. The United States believes disarmament should also concern the regions north of the Litani, the securing of the Syrian border, and also armed Palestinian groups. Hezbollah, for its part, prefers to negotiate with the Lebanese state rather than with Washington, considering it unnecessary to conclude a new agreement in addition to the one that led to the cease-fire in November 2024.