Reports say US, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar and Pakistan may form new mechanism; senior US official denies Israel is shut out

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced domestic criticism for failing to achieve his war objectives after the United States and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement. [Getty Images]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced domestic criticism for failing to achieve his war objectives after the United States and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement. [Getty Images]

By Seo Ji-yeon, The Herald Business

Reports have emerged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted with alarm and moved quickly to respond after the United States and Iran agreed at high-level talks in Switzerland to establish a Lebanon deconfliction mechanism. The development has raised questions about whether Israel is being sidelined as US-Iran negotiations shift focus from nuclear issues toward managing the Lebanon front.

Israel's Channel 12 reported Sunday, citing a senior Israeli official, that Netanyahu came close to a state of "panic" after being briefed on the outcome of the US-Iran talks.

According to the report, Netanyahu feared the new framework could restrict Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon or exclude Israel from any structure designed to address Lebanese security matters.

Israel views its military pressure on Hezbollah and its troop presence in southern Lebanon as essential security requirements. Officials reportedly concluded that the new mechanism could limit Israel's freedom of action.

Qatar and Pakistan confirmed in a joint statement after the Switzerland talks that the United States and Iran had agreed to establish a new conflict-reduction body to oversee the end of military operations in Lebanon.

US Vice President JD Vance also said shortly after the talks that a new "deconfliction mechanism" had been put in place.

Local media reports suggested the new body could center on the United States, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar and Pakistan — a departure from the existing framework, which included the United States, Israel, Lebanon, France and the UN.

Washington moved quickly to tamp down the concerns.

A senior US official denied that Israel would be excluded from the new mechanism, saying that given the close cooperation between Washington and Jerusalem, the new channel could in fact serve Israel's security interests.

It remained unclear, however, whether that statement meant Israel would formally participate or whether the United States would simply represent Israeli interests indirectly.

Israel responded immediately.

Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu determined existing diplomatic channels — including the Israeli ambassador to the United States — were insufficient to manage the situation, and dispatched his close confidant Ron Dermer, the former minister of strategic affairs, as an emergency envoy.

Senior US officials spoke with Dermer multiple times during the Switzerland negotiations, keeping him informed of developments related to Lebanon.

Channel 12 also reported that President Donald Trump's public warning during the talks — that the United States could strike Iran again if it failed to rein in Hezbollah — partly reflected concerns raised by the Israeli side.

Analysts say the episode illustrates how Lebanon has emerged as a pivotal variable in the US-Iran negotiations.

While the United States has kept nuclear program restrictions and sanctions relief at the center of the talks, Iran has in effect made stability on the Hezbollah and Lebanon front a precondition. Nuclear discussions made little substantive progress at the Switzerland talks, with Lebanon dominating the agenda.


sjy@heraldcorp.com