Lebanon PM meets Rubio as Israel talks stall: What to know

WASHINGTON — Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Monday as US efforts to advance a security framework between Lebanon and Israel have made little progress since the two sides last held formal talks in August.

What happened: Salam arrived on Monday morning at the State Department for his meeting with Rubio. Lebanon’s official news agency NNA reported that Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Youssef Raggi and Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attended the meeting.

Salam has been in the US for almost a week for the UN General Assembly summit in New York and is now in Washington for meetings with US and international officials. Salam is leading a delegation that includes Finance Minister Yassine Jaber and Energy and Water Minister Joe Saddi, according to NNA. 

The trip marks Salam’s first visit to Washington since becoming prime minister in February 2025.

The meeting comes as the next round of US-mediated talks between Lebanon and Israel is expected in Rome in October, a State Department official said earlier this month, although no date has been announced. The diplomatic channel between the sides has, however, remained open. Hamadeh and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter met at the State Department on Sept. 15. An Israeli official told the Times of Israel that the meeting was “positive,” but more limited in scope than previous rounds of talks.

The ambassadors’ meeting followed the seventh round of formal negotiations in August. 

Background: Israeli officials do not expect substantive progress in the talks before Israel’s elections, scheduled for Oct. 27, according to Al-Monitor’s Ben Caspit, who reported earlier this month that Israeli officials expect the negotiations to remain stalled until after the vote.

The US-led negotiations are aimed at implementing a trilateral framework signed by Lebanon, Israel and the US in Washington in June. The framework calls for the Lebanese military to restore authority over southern Lebanon, for non-state armed groups, namely Hezbollah, to be disarmed and for Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanese territory. It also calls for US-supported verification mechanisms and a military coordination group to oversee implementation.

The National reported last week, citing UNIFIL, that Israel had established three new fortified positions in southern Lebanon this year, in addition to five that it had occupied since 2024. In August, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that the Israeli military had captured 230 square miles (600 square kilometers) of Lebanese territory.

During his speech to the UN General Assembly on Friday, Salam reiterated Lebanon’s position that the agreement must lead to an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the extension of Lebanese state authority throughout the country.

Know more: According to NNA, Salam and his delegation are set to attend a series of meetings in Washington Monday focused on Lebanon’s economic needs. They will meet with World Bank officials including Executive Director Abdulaziz Al-Mulla before meeting World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. 

Lebanon faces mounting reconstruction needs alongside a longstanding financial crisis that began in 2019. The World Bank estimates the country will need around $11 billion for reconstruction following the war with Israel.

Salam and Jaber are also scheduled to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later Monday in Washington. On Tuesday, the delegation is set to meet with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

His visit comes as Israeli attacks continued across southern Lebanon on Monday. An explosion in the Tyre town of Al-Mansouri was attributed to Israeli forces, while Israeli warplanes struck the area between Mayfadoun and Zawtar al-Sharqiya, according to Lebanese media. On Sunday, the Israeli military said Hezbollah had launched an explosive-laden drone toward Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets.