# Rubio says Israel-Lebanon talks are close to a "commitment of intent", both sides deny the rest > Washington ends three days of direct Israel-Lebanon talks with US optimism that Israeli and Lebanese officials contradict; a drone strike kills two near Nabatieh **Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-06-25 · heads: How Wars Actually End, What They're Not Saying · 7 takes · 4 lenses · 5 regions ## Summary US Secretary of State [Marco Rubio](/en/entity/marco-rubio) said from Bahrain on June 25 that Washington was "very close" to obtaining a "commitment of intent" between [Israel](/en/entity/israel) and [Lebanon](/en/entity/lebanon), citing the first direct government-to-government talks between the two countries in 30 years. Three days of US-brokered meetings in Washington wrapped up Thursday. But both Israeli and Lebanese officials denied a separate US official's claim that the IDF had pulled troops back from parts of southern Lebanon as a good-faith gesture toward Beirut; the IDF and the Lebanese government each said no withdrawal had occurred. A separate Israeli drone strike killed two people near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on the same day, complicating the diplomatic framing. ## The split Rubio's Bahrain press conference was strikingly more optimistic than anything coming from Jerusalem or Beirut. L'Orient Today and Naharnet described the round as "the least productive to date." The Times of Israel led with the IDF-withdrawal denial, not the Rubio quote. Arab News and Gulf News connected Rubio's Israel-Lebanon framing to his broader Gulf tour, linking it to Oman's move to reject [Strait of Hormuz](/en/entity/strait-of-hormuz) Hormuz transit fees. The gap between Washington's messaging and what Israeli and Lebanese officials say on the record is the core tension here, and has been consistent across all three rounds of talks. ## By the numbers - 30 years since the last direct government-to-government talks between Lebanon and Israel - 2 people killed in Israeli drone strike near Nabatieh, June 25 - 3 rounds of US-brokered Washington talks this week - 0 formal "commitment of intent" documents signed as of the close of Thursday's session ## Why it matters A formal Israel-Lebanon agreement, even a limited "pilot zone" transfer of IDF-held territory to the Lebanese army, would test whether Hezbollah's disarmament can be enforced without active US military cover and would give [Benjamin Netanyahu](/en/entity/benjamin-netanyahu) Netanyahu a diplomatic win. Failure to agree keeps the Israel Hezbollah ceasefire line fragile and sustains Hezbollah's argument that it cannot disarm unilaterally. Progress, even partial, would ease Gulf states' pressure to broker Hormuz and Red Sea arrangements independently. ## What to watch - Whether a written "declaration of intent" is exchanged in the days following the talks, and what it actually commits each side to. - Response from Hezbollah's remaining political structures in Lebanon, which have not been party to the Washington talks. - Whether the Nabatieh drone strike draws a formal Lebanese complaint that the Lebanese government uses to slow the process. - Rubio's next itinerary stop: if he travels to Beirut or Jerusalem, that signals a deal is close; if he returns to Washington, the round is over with nothing signed. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### Israeli liberal daily; makes the IDF-withdrawal denial the headline, not Rubio's optimism - **Times of Israel** (Israel, en) — Reports that senior Israeli and Lebanese officials each denied a US official's claim that the IDF pulled troops back from parts of southern Lebanon as a good-faith gesture; frames the denial as the material news from the talks' final day. > "Israeli and Lebanese officials each denied Thursday that there had been any withdrawal of Israeli troops from IDF-held southern Lebanon." Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-25-2026/ ### Lebanon's main English-language outlet; describes the round as "the least productive to date" while flagging Rubio's Bahrain framing - **L'Orient Today** (Lebanon, en) — Lebanese framing is notably more cautious than Rubio's: the outlet cites officials describing the current round as the least productive, while reporting that Issa had suggested a 'declaration of intent' was possible by Thursday. > "A declaration of intent was expected from Lebanon-Israel talks Thursday, sources told L'Orient Today, though officials described the round as the least productive so far." Source: https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1539316/declaration-of-intent-expected-from-lebanon-israel-talks-thursday-says-issa-iran-warns-no-passage-through-hormuz-without-its-approval-live.html ### Saudi state-aligned; links Rubio's Israel-Lebanon optimism to Gulf states' broader interest in regional de-escalation - **Arab News** (Saudi Arabia, en) — Embeds the Israel-Lebanon progress within Rubio's Bahrain visit and Gulf diplomacy, connecting it to Oman's parallel move to rule out Hormuz transit fees; frames the two tracks as linked steps toward post-war regional order. > "Rubio praises progress in Israel-Lebanon talks as he tours Gulf capitals seeking to align ceasefire conditions with regional partners." Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/2648545/middle-east ### unlabelled - **Naharnet** (Lebanon, en) — Source: https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/320929-rubio-says-lebanon-and-israel-very-close-to-very-positive-declaration-of-intent - **Gulf News** (UAE, en) — Source: https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/oman-rules-out-hormuz-transit-fees-as-rubio-warns-iran-tolls-risk-global-shipping-chaos-1.500586042 - **Fox News** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/us-iran-peace-deal-nuclear-talks-israel-lebanon-conflict-june-25-2026 - **US State Department** (United States, en) — Official US-Lebanon-Israel joint statement from the high-level trilateral meeting; the primary record of what was formally agreed versus what Rubio described at the Bahrain press conference. Source: https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/06/joint-statement-of-the-united-states-of-america-republic-of-lebanon-and-state-of-israel-on-the-latest-high-level-trilateral-meeting ## Across the graph - Related: [[iran-israel-ceasefire-fraying]], [[iran-us-ceasefire-mou]], [[irgc-oman-hormuz-route-rejection-2026-06-25]], [[syria-israel-security-pact-strikes]] - Entities: Israel, Lebanon, Benjamin Netanyahu, Marco Rubio, Iran Israel Ceasefire Fraying --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/israel-lebanon-rubio-intent-jun25