Behind the Scenes of Lebanon's Meetings in New York.. The Demand is One: "Control of Weapons"

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The Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon continues, after the air force carried out a series of airstrikes over the past two days, accompanied by artillery shelling targeting several southern towns, some of which fall within what has come to be known as the "Blue Line" and others in the Nabatieh district, in addition to the heights of the Iqlim al-Tuffah, which observers believe will be the next target for the Israeli army after announcing its control over the Ali al-Taher heights, due to the military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah that it contains.

I met today with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the U.S. Department of State in Washington. During the meeting, we discussed developments in Lebanon and the region, and the path to restoring Lebanon's full sovereignty. I emphasized that Lebanon looks forward to a renewed partnership with the United States that accompanies the project of rebuilding the state and strengthening its institutions… pic.twitter.com/1pJgmDkMPt

It seems that the eighth round of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, under the auspices of the United States, will not take place at least before the Israeli elections at the end of October, according to diplomatic sources confirmed to "Al Arabiya and Al Hadath.net".

The sources also indicated that "even if a date for the eighth round is set before the end of October, it will not yield any specific results and will only be for show."

Lebanon is relying on the diplomatic movement initiated by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the accompanying delegation in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings, where he had several meetings with heads of state and ministers concerned with the Lebanese file.

Diplomatic sources clarified that "the meetings in New York were good, but there are many questions about what has been achieved on the ground, especially regarding the decision to restrict arms and assert state authority, as time is passing without any tangible progress on the ground, while what is required is the implementation of what the government has committed to regarding arms."

Meanwhile, the diplomatic sources warned that "the longer Lebanon delays in fulfilling its commitments, the more difficult the situation will become."

Additionally, they pointed out that "the international community relies on the Lebanese army to fulfill its duties in implementing the decision to restrict arms, especially in the northern Litani area."

As for the phase following the international forces operating in southern Lebanon, "UNIFIL," whose mandate ends at the end of the year, the diplomatic sources confirmed that "there will be no renewal of UNIFIL in the south, and there is no alternative formula so far."

Lebanon insists on the exclusivity of the official decision regarding negotiations and the decisions of war and peace, while Hezbollah continues to criticize the framework agreement and the direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. It has called, through its Secretary-General Naeem Qassem, to halt this path and return to indirect negotiations.

This is what Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in front of the Iranian delegation he met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where he emphasized that Lebanon is not a playground for exchanging messages, demanding that Iran appoint a new ambassador to Lebanon instead of the current ambassador, Mohammad Reza Shibani, whom Lebanon considers "a person not welcomed."

However, the Iranian side, according to what was reported from the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Iranian President Masoud Bezhakian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, rejected appointing a replacement for Shibani and affirmed its commitment to him even if his stay in Lebanon ends.