Israel-Lebanon Talks, Round 4: The Pentagon Takes a Seat

Watch an expert conversation exploring the next round of U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon as the Pentagon hosts new security negotiations.

washington institute. by Hanin Ghaddar, Assaf Orion, David Schenker

May 28, 2026

The fourth round of U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place next week, but with one significant shift: because the issue of disarming Hezbollah has obstructed progress in previous rounds, security negotiations will now take place at the Pentagon separate from political negotiations at the State Department. As such, officials in both departments are working hard to find compromises between the two countries’ priorities, aiming to move beyond another ceasefire renewal and reach a framework for broader negotiations.

Can the parties resolve thorny issues such as confiscating weapons and securing borders before the Trump administration’s patience runs out? If so, how can U.S. officials help the Lebanese Armed Forces implement the agreed disarmament plan? And what implications do the U.S.-Iran stalemate and other regional dynamics hold for key policy issues like reconstruction and the future of Israeli-Lebanese normalization? To answer these questions, The Washington Institute is pleased to announce a virtual Policy Forum moderated by Executive Director Robert Satloff and featuring:

Hanin Ghaddar, the Institute’s Friedmann Senior Fellow and coauthor of its 2025 paper A Roadmap for Israel-Lebanon Peace.

Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion (IDF, Res.), the Institute’s Rueven International Fellow, a senior research fellow at INSS in Tel Aviv, and former head of the Israel Defense Forces Strategic Planning Division.

David Schenker, the Institute’s Taube Senior Fellow, director of its Rubin Program on Arab Politics, and former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs during the first Trump administration.

The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Winkler Lowy Foundation.

Hanin Ghaddar is the Friedmann Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute’s Rubin Family Arab Politics Program, where she focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant.

Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion (Res.) is The Washington Institute’s Rueven International Fellow, a senior research fellow at INSS, and former head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division.

David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics. He is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.