Rubio to join tough Lebanon, Israel talks in Washington

(Al Arabiya) Lebanese and Israeli representatives are scheduled to meet in Washington Tuesday for US-mediated talks on ending the war in Lebanon in the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio’s schedule for Tuesday says that he will join the “working-level peace talks with Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the United States Nada Hamadeh Moawad at the Department of State.”. Naim Qassem — the leader of pro-Iran Hezbollah, which is battling Israel — called for the talks to be scrapped before they even began, describing them as “futile.”. Lebanon was pulled into the region-wide Iran war on March 2 after Hezbollah attacked Israel. – Rubio to join tough Lebanon, Israel talks in Washington