US watching developments at Ali al-Taher Ridge, says US Beirut envoy

The United States is waiting to see what unfolds over the next two days at the Ali al-Taher Ridge in Southern Lebanon, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said on Wednesday, according to Lebanon’s MTV television network.

Issa spoke after meeting Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, Lebanon’s highest Sunni religious leader. He said the two discussed Lebanon’s future and “the importance of coexistence,” and that he had told the mufti that Washington “stands with the Lebanese people” and wants the country to be safe and independent.

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Issa said the “model areas” were making progress, adding that everything agreed upon takes time to achieve. He was referring to the pilot zones set out under the June 26 framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon, under which the Lebanese Armed Forces deploy as Israeli troops withdraw.

The ridge in Southern Lebanon sits above an extensive Hezbollah tunnel complex spanning more than a kilometer. The site served as a command-and-control center and housed weapons depots and rocket-launching facilities.

Several dozen Hezbollah terrorists are believed to remain trapped in the tunnels beneath the ridge. The Iranian-backed terror group claims it has resupplied them by drone and through newly dug shafts.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote on X that he had spoken with LAF commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal in Rome and urged him to press ahead with negotiations on disarming Hezbollah.

Haykal’s visit followed recent meetings in Italy between Lebanon, Israel and the United States, Tajani said. Those talks focused on implementing the June 26 framework.

The foreign minister said he told Haykal during the visit that he could “count on Italy.” Rome would keep backing the dialogue process and “do our part,” Tajani said.

He added that he would address Lebanon’s future on Aug. 26 at a panel at the Meeting for Friendship Amongst Peoples, an annual Catholic gathering in Italy also known as the Rimini Meeting.

Minister @Antonio_Tajani after speaking by phone with General Rodolphe Haykal, Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces 🇱🇧, who is visiting Rome 🗣️:“His visit is one I encouraged in recent months in my talks with President Joseph Aoun and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi. It… https://t.co/8bRehHh2ss

Hezbollah has repeatedly stated it refuses to lay down its weapons and would not abide by any agreement Beirut signs with Jerusalem.

“Direct negotiations have brought Lebanon nothing except shame, humiliation, disappointment and one concession after another,” Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Aug. 4, according to Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen channel, which is affiliated with the Iranian-backed group.

“We are confronting a U.S.-Israeli aggression against Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Iraq and Yemen aimed at extinguishing the flame of the resistance and colonizing the region,” the terrorist leader claimed. “The Israeli enemy’s only option is a complete withdrawal—and it will withdraw.”

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