Stephanie Rady and Rania Abushamala
12 September 2026•Update: 12 September 2026
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Saturday that there are “no new negotiations with Israel at present,” reaffirming his country’s demand for an Israeli withdrawal and the return of prisoners and displaced people to their areas.
“There are no new negotiations with Israel at present,” Aoun told reporters during a visit to the southern city of Nabatieh, accompanied by army commander Rodolphe Haykal and the heads of Lebanon’s security agencies.
“The withdrawal, the return of prisoners and displaced people, and reconstruction are national principles that we pledge to implement,” he added in his comments carried by the state news agency NNA.
A US official told Axios on Friday that the next round of Israel-Lebanon talks, originally scheduled for Rome next week, had been postponed.
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors will instead meet at the State Department in Washington to discuss developments and continued implementation of the June framework agreement, added the official.
The next round of formal negotiations will take place in Rome in October, the US official said.
Direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel began with a US-sponsored meeting in Washington on April 14.
Successive rounds addressed a ceasefire, the Israeli withdrawal, border issues, and prisoners and missing persons.
Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a US-sponsored framework agreement in Washington on June 26, providing for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the deployment of the Lebanese army in areas vacated by Israeli forces.
During his tour in Nabatieh, Aoun inspected the government complex, which sustained extensive damage in Israeli airstrikes, as well as the Lebanese central bank building, which was destroyed in the bombardment.
He also visited Nabatieh Hospital and praised its staff for continuing their work under difficult conditions.
Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed nearly 4,400 people and injured 12,500 others since March 2, according to official Lebanese figures.
Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, including territory held for decades and other locations seized during recent wars and military operations.