Hezbollah urges Lebanon to cancel Washington talks with Israel

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday called on Lebanon's government to cancel a planned meeting with Israel scheduled in Washington for the following day, publicly rejecting any form of direct negotiations between the two sides.

In a televised address, Qassem said his Iran-backed group opposes talks with what he described as "the usurping Israeli entity," urging Lebanese officials to take what he called a "historic and heroic stance" by pulling out of the scheduled engagement.

"We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity ... We call for a historic and heroic stance by cancelling this negotiating meeting," Qassem said.

The meeting was set to involve the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States, according to reporting by the South China Morning Post. It would mark a rare instance of direct contact between the two countries, which remain technically in a state of war.

Qassem's remarks came as Hezbollah has been engaged in active conflict with Israel since March 2. The group, which holds significant political and military influence in Lebanon, has long opposed any normalization or direct engagement with the Israeli government.

The call places pressure on Lebanon's government, which operates in a complex political environment where Hezbollah and its allies hold considerable sway. Whether Lebanese officials would heed the demand or proceed with the Washington meeting was not immediately clear at the time of Qassem's statement.

The broader context involves ongoing regional tensions tied to the conflict in Gaza, which has drawn in a range of actors across the Middle East. Hezbollah's fighting with Israel since March has added another layer of instability to an already volatile situation in the region.

Direct diplomatic contact between Lebanon and Israel remains extraordinarily rare given the two countries' history of conflict and the absence of formal diplomatic relations. Any such meeting in Washington would be conducted under U.S. auspices and would represent a significant, if limited, departure from the norm.