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Tom Park, the United States’ special envoy to Lebanon, said on Monday that his team will discuss a possible ceasefire agreement with Israel, after Beirut supported a US -backed plan for the Hezbollah terrorist group to disarm.
Bear, after a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Washington also said an economic proposal for post -war rebuilding in the country, months after the diplomacy of the United States and Lebanon. Hezbollah, officially defined by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997, is still the most powerful Iranian agent in the region and is subject to widespread US sanctions.
His barracks are also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Nour Salam and its President Nabih Berry, who is often negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah with Washington.
“I think the Lebanese government has played its role. They took the first step,” said Barak, the American ambassador to Türkiye. “Now what we need is that Israel correspond to this equal handshake.”

The US ambassador to Turkey and the Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barak, during a press conference after his meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the Presidential Palace, in Babada, east of Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday, August 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussin Malla)
Hezbolh Druo intense through President Donald Trump’s first mandate, When Washington re -revived the procedures for enforcement against global financing networks, new sanctions and appointment of a criminal organization crossed out in 2018.
In Trump’s second state, the administration expanded these measures.
The Treasury has announced new sanctions on financiers and front companies associated with Hezbollah craftsmanship, including designations in March and July targeting oil smuggling, senior officials and group arm, and good cannabis. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs He also provided up to 10 million dollars to obtain information that disrupts the financial networks of Hezbollah and reiterated that Hezbollah should not participate in the government of Lebanon.
Lebanon’s decision last week to support a plan to disarm Hezbollah, which angered the Iranian -backed terrorist group and its allies, who believe that the Israeli army should first withdraw from the five hills in southern Lebanon, which it held since the end of its 14 -month war with Hezbollah last November and stopped launching it almost daily in the country. Naim Casim, the Secretary -General of Hezbollah, pledged to combat efforts to disarm the group, and calm the concerns of civil turmoil in the country.
“This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together – or Lebanon will not be a life if you stand on the other side and try to confront us and eliminate us,” Qasim said in a televised speech last week.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, the oath, meets the US ambassador to Turkey and the Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barak, Deputy US Special Envoy in the Middle East, Morgan Ortigos, and the US ambassador to Lebanon Lisa A. Johnson at the Presidential Palace in Babada, in eastern Beirut, Libanon, Monday, August 18. (Lebanese Presidential Press Office via AP)
Salam, the Prime Minister in Lebanon, said that Qassem’s statements “carry a veiled threat to civil war, and no one in Lebanon today wants a civil war, the threat or hint of it is completely unacceptable.”
In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, attacks by terrorists, Hezbollah, launched missile strikes and artillery fire against Israel, prompting Israel to respond to air strikes. This was followed by about 14 months of fighting across the border, and Israel has increased accurate strikes targeting Hezbollah leaders and leadership. The fighting has not resumed widely since Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire agreement in the United States in November 2024, despite violations.
The Israeli army said that the daily air strikes in southern Lebanon aim to weaken the Hezbollah network and compensate for the efforts of the terrorist group to reorganize and rearmaize.
Barrack warned Hezbollah that it “has missed” if the calls are not supported to disarm them.

The US Special President’s Deputy President of the United States is attending the Middle East, Morgan Ortridos, the press conference of the American ambassador to Turkey and the Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barak, after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the Presidential Palace, in Abbad, east of Beirut, on Monday, August 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussin Malla)
Aoun and Salam want to disarm Hezbollah and others Armed groups other than the state, He called on Israel to stop its attacks and withdraw from the country.
Aoun said that he wanted to increase the financing of the Lebanese army, which is suffering from financial hardship to support its ability. He also wants to raise funds from international donors to help rebuild the country.
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The World Bank estimates that Hezbollah and Israel in late 2024 cost $ 11.1 billion of economic damage and losses, as large areas of southern and eastern Lebanon were exposed. The country has faced an economic crisis that paralyzed since 2019.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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