{"id":359,"date":"2026-04-13T17:53:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T17:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=359"},"modified":"2026-04-13T17:53:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T17:53:03","slug":"hezbollah-official-says-the-group-wont-abide-by-any-agreements-from-lebanon-israel-talks-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=359","title":{"rendered":"Hezbollah official says the group won\u2019t abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks in the US"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wafiq Safa, senior Hezbollah political council member, gestures as he speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hussein Malla)<\/small><\/p>\n

2026-04-13T17:48:15Z<\/p>\n

BEIRUT (AP) \u2014 The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah<\/a><\/span> will not abide by any agreements that may result from the direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States<\/a><\/span>, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday.<\/p>\n

Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah\u2019s political council, spoke on the eve of the talks expected in Washington<\/a><\/span> between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, meet face-to-face in direct talks. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all,\u201d Safa told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not bound by what they agree to,\u201d he added in a rare interview with international media. He spoke next to a cemetery as an Israeli drone buzzing overhead.<\/p>\n

Historic negotiations at a sensitive time<\/h2>\n

Lebanese officials are looking to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war in the U.S. talks. <\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a><\/span>, meanwhile, has said the goal is Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament and a potential peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Netanyahu said Monday that there will be no ceasefire with Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

Separately, in U.S.-Iran peace talks held last weekend in Pakistan<\/a><\/span>, Iran has sought to include Lebanon in any ceasefire deal of its own with the U.S. Israel and the U.S. have insisted Lebanon would not be a part of it. <\/p>\n

Hours after Tehran and Washington announced a truce last Wednesday, Israel launched more than 100 strikes across Lebanon, including in densely packed residential and commercial areas of central Beirut.<\/p>\n

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