BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday rejected Israel’s occupation of south Lebanon and “other foreign interference”, alluding to Iran, as a fifth round of Israel-Lebanon talks began in Washington.

“We accept nothing less than an end to the Israeli occupation and at the same time, the fall of foreign tutelage, because our only option is our national sovereignty and our sole wager is on the Lebanese state,” Aoun said.

The Lebanese president’s office also said he spoke to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over the phone, discussing the situation “in light of the results of the US-Iran negotiations”.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem called for a scheduled withdrawal of Israeli troops from the south.

Hezbollah chief calls for ‘timetabled’ pullout of Israeli troops

“We now have a ceasefire. The withdrawal must take place according to a timetable. Israel has no choice but to fully withdraw from all Lebanese territory, without retaining an inch,” Qassem said in a televised address.

“Israel withdraws and the Lebanese army deploys exclusively south of the Litani River,” Qassem said, referring to a waterway around 30 kilometres from the Israeli border.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who acts as an intermediary for the group, also spoke to Macron, his office said, emphasising “the importance of consolidating the ceasefire” and Israel’s withdrawal.

Deadly clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on Friday and Saturday had rattled the fledgling US-Iran deal, which provides for a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.

Israel and Lebanon, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, have been pursuing direct negotiations in Washington in recent weeks, with a fifth round beginning on Tuesday.

President Aoun and US Vice President JD Vance discussed a “de-confliction mechanism” on Monday that Vance said was aimed at preventing spiralling flare-ups of violence in Lebanon.

Two killed in Israeli gunfire Israeli gunfire killed two persons in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, the first reported fatalities resulting from Israeli fire in three days.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026