Vance tells Geagea US pressuring Iran to ensure Hezbollah disarms

U.S. Vice President JD Vance has told Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea that the U.S.' talks with Iran regarding Lebanon do not aim to give Tehran any role in determining Lebanon's future or influencing its decisions, but to ensure that Iran pressures Hezbollah to abide by its commitments and obligations.

Geagea said Tuesday that Vance's letter was a response to his appeal to the Vice President to support the Lebanese state and separate the Lebanese negotiations from the U.S.-Iran talks.

According to Geagea, Vance said the United States views President Joseph Aoun and the Lebanese government as the sole legitimate authority in Lebanon and stressed Washington's will to work with the Lebanese state to enable it to protect its sovereignty and consolidate its legitimate authority.

Geagea had argued that the best way the U.S. can support Lebanon is by reinforcing its legitimate institutions as the country's sole authority. He called for restricting all negotiations exclusively to the Lebanese state and permanently sidelining Iran from the Lebanese file, after the U.S. and Iran agreed to set up a "de-confliction cell" with Lebanon "to ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations" there.