Lebanon-Israel talks overshadowed by new US-Iran diplomatic track

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New round of direct negotiations opens amid uncertainty over how it will intersect with deconfliction mechanism negotiated in Switzerland Mourners carry the casket of a slain Hezbollah fighter during his funeral in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on 23 June 2026 (Abbas Fakih/AFP) Off Lebanon and Israel began a fifth round of direct negotiations in Washington on Tuesday, with Beirut seeking to revive proposals for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon even as a new US-Iran diplomatic channel t