Negotiating and maintaining a ceasefire in Lebanon will be kept separate from any deal with Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells reporters after arriving in Abu Dhabi.

“That process is separate. It’s separate because Lebanon is a sovereign country. It has a government, and when it comes to Lebanon and what’s happening inside of Lebanon, we’re going to negotiate and deal directly with the Lebanese government”, he explains.

“There’s an Iranian issue with regard to Lebanon, and that is their support and sponsorship of Hezbollah. And so that factor will be discussed as part of our conversations with the Iranians,” he adds.

“But as far as the future of Lebanon, the future of Lebanon belongs to the Lebanese people through their sovereign, elected government. And that’s who we’re going to be working with.”