Lebanese-Israeli Talks and the August 4 Indictment: The State Reasserts Itself

The seventh round of direct Lebanese-Israeli talks got underway Tuesday in Rome at the U.S. Embassy.

The negotiations, described as difficult, are set to continue over three days, during which the Lebanese and Israeli delegations are expected to agree on the next stage of the mechanism envisaged for the gradual withdrawal of Tel Aviv’s forces and the deployment of the Lebanese Army. Beirut has made this issue a particular priority, while Israel remains chiefly focused on Lebanon’s mechanism envisaged for Hezbollah’s disarmament.

The Iran-backed group returned to the offensive on Tuesday, lashing out at the Lebanese authorities and taking particular aim at President Joseph Aoun.

Breaking nearly a month of silence, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem accused the president of being “biased” and of playing into Israel’s hands. He denounced what he described as a policy that “consists (according to him) of making free concessions to Israel and serving the interests of that state rather than those of Lebanon.”

This speech could easily have been headlined, The Lebanese-Israeli Talks Through Tehran’s Eyes – especially as he took the opportunity to pay tribute to Iran. In his view, Lebanon’s salvation can come only through an Iranian-American memorandum of understanding, which, in practical terms, means that Lebanon should remain under the control of the mullahs’ regime. That prospect remains out of the question for the Lebanese authorities, which are instead fully committed to a process aimed at freeing the country from all forms of external tutelage and restoring the state’s authority and standing.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, moreover, echoed that longstanding Lebanese position in a forceful response to Iran’s spokesman in Lebanon, putting him firmly in his place by stressing in a post on his X account that “a group that has usurped the state’s authority over decisions of war and peace for the benefit of a foreign axis (to which it belongs) is the last one entitled to lecture others on patriotism.”

For the prime minister, if anyone has done Israel a service, it is Hezbollah. Mr. Salam pointed in this regard to the “absurd” wars into which the group dragged the country “unilaterally,” disregarding the national interest and thereby giving Israel “a pretext to attack Lebanon, destroy its villages, kill and displace its population, and violate its sovereignty.”

A New Chapter With Syria

Naim Qassem’s speech was nevertheless notable for announcing Hezbollah’s willingness to open a new chapter with the regime of Ahmad al-Sharaa in Syria, even though his group had fought against it alongside Bashar al-Assad’s forces during the 2011 war.

This tactical opening can only be explained by the weakening and isolation of Hezbollah, which appears ready to do whatever it takes to survive. Unfortunately for Hezbollah, events on the ground on Tuesday showed that the Iran-backed group is seeking to preserve its supply corridor with Iran through Syria. While Naim Qassem was praising the opening of a new chapter between his movement and Damascus, the Lebanese Army announced the seizure of Grad-type rockets intended for Hezbollah in the border area near Ersal, in the Bekaa Valley, which had been smuggled in from Syria.

This was the latest in a long series of weapons seizures involving supplies headed to the Iran-backed group, alongside the discovery of tunnels and illegal border routes, all serving the same purpose: arms and drug trafficking.

The August 4 Commemoration

Another stroke of bad luck for Hezbollah: the seizure coincided with the sixth anniversary of the apocalyptic Beirut port explosion, on August 4, 2020, where hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored.

By announcing on July 28, 2026, the discovery of nearly 4,000 tons of the same explosive material near the village of Houla in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL reinforced suspicions that had been fueled for years of links between Hezbollah and the highly murky affair involving the storage of 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate at the Beirut port (which was controlled by Hezbollah at the time), only a few hundred tons of which exploded on August 4, 2020.

The indictment that Tarek Bitar, the investigating judge at the Judicial Council, is expected to issue by December, according to Beirut Bar Association President Imad Martinos, should shed light on this case, which many officials under former President Michel Aoun sought to suppress by every possible means.

His successor, Joseph Aoun, has taken the opposite approach, urging the judge to make public as soon as possible the indictment submitted to Cassation Prosecutor General Mohammed Saab. The latter must issue his written opinion after reviewing the document, examining the charges, and assessing the next steps in the proceedings, before returning it to Tarek Bitar.

Since Joseph Aoun took over as head of state and Nawaf Salam was appointed to lead the government, the investigation into the August 4 explosion has followed a normal judicial course.

Will it mark the end of impunity in Lebanon? Many hope it will. In any case, the authorities’ conduct reflects a serious commitment to pursuing the case. A national day of mourning was declared across the country, with flags lowered to half-mast, particularly at the presidential palace, while ministers took part in gatherings held in memory of the victims.

At the gathering held late in the afternoon near the port, at the time of day when the explosion occurred, the victims’ families announced that they would continue their campaign until the full truth about the case was uncovered and those responsible were punished.

A deal over the Strait of Hormuz?

On the regional front, the day was marked by a sense of déjà vu, with the announcement of an imminent agreement on the Strait of Hormuz, even as all previous agreements concluded and signed between the United States and Iran have failed to be honored by the Iranian regime.

It was in this context that the Qatari and Pakistani mediators reported “ongoing efforts” to resume dialogue between Washington and Tehran, while the United States announced an upcoming agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been at the heart of renewed hostilities between in recent weeks. The agreement could be reached “Tuesday or Wednesday,” according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to confirm it shortly afterward.

According to Qatar, these efforts are being pursued without any direct talks scheduled between the two sides.

Whatever happens, tensions remain high in the region, where Yemen’s Houthis targeted Najran Airport in Saudi Arabia.

Overnight Monday into Tuesday, a cargo ship attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile that triggered a fire. One crew member is missing, according to British security company Vanguard.