Tom Barrack and his delegation met by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at Ain al-Tineh, on Aug. 26, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-Le Jour)
This is a formal American delegation. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, accompanied by the U.S. deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus and several senators, including Lindsay Graham and Jeanne Shaheen, met with Lebanese officials on Tuesday as part of negotiations to restore calm to the Lebanese-Israeli border. While the format differed among members of this delegation, the American message can be summed up in one sentence: no Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon before Hezbollah is disarmed. This radical position was a disappointment in Beirut, at a time when Lebanese officials were betting that the Cabinet's decision regarding the monopoly on arms would sway the Israeli position, based on the principle of "tit for tat." But as stated — in a "diplomatic" tone — by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...
This is a formal American delegation. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, accompanied by the U.S. deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus and several senators, including Lindsay Graham and Jeanne Shaheen, met with Lebanese officials on Tuesday as part of negotiations to restore calm to the Lebanese-Israeli border. While the format differed among members of this delegation, the American message can be summed up in one sentence: no Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon before Hezbollah is disarmed. This radical position was a disappointment in Beirut, at a time when Lebanese officials were betting that the Cabinet's decision regarding the monopoly on arms would sway the Israeli position, based on the principle of "tit for tat." But as stated — in a "diplomatic" tone — by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...
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