U.S. brokered talks set as Israel and Lebanon leaders prepare rare direct talks amid Iran war crisis

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:17:00 +0200

President Donald Trump announced that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will hold a direct phone conversation on Thursday, signaling a rare diplomatic opening between the two neighboring countries amid the broader Iran war and blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. The planned call follows a high‑level face‑to‑face meeting in Washington on Tuesday—the first such direct negotiation between Israeli and Lebanese officials since 1993—and is being framed as a key step toward a possible ceasefire in Lebanon tied to the wider U.S.‑Iran peace process. The talks are seen as strategically important because stabilizing the Israel‑Lebanon front could create political space for both Washington and Tehran to negotiate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil‑shipping corridor that has remained largely closed since the conflict escalated.

U.S. officials have made clear that any broad agreement with Iran would likely require a durable truce on Israel’s northern border, where Hezbollah has bee