Skip to main content

Israeli foreign minister denies reports of Lebanon talks, interceptor shortages

1 min Mena Today

Israel's foreign minister on Sunday denied reports that Israel could soon hold direct talks with Lebanon and rejected claims it had told the United States it was running low on interceptors.

Gideon Saar © Mena Today 

Gideon Saar © Mena Today 

Israel's foreign minister on Sunday denied reports that Israel could soon hold direct talks with Lebanon and rejected claims it had told the United States it was running low on interceptors.

Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported on Saturday that Israel and Lebanon were expected to hold direct talks in the coming days. Semafor also reported that Israel had informed Washington it was running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors.

Both reports cited unnamed sources.

Asked about the weekend reports, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said: "For the two questions, the answer is no."

He also said that Israel sees "eye-to-eye" with the U.S. in the war with Iran, now in its 16th day, and that the two allies were determined to continue until their goals are achieved.

"We want to remove the existential threats from Iran for the long term. We don't want to go every year to another war," he told reporters.

Saar was speaking from a Bedouin Arab town in northern Israel near an Israeli Air Force base where homes were damaged in an Iranian missile attack last week.

Reporting by Alexander Cornwell

Related

Iran

Iran's negotiators head to Switzerland

A high-level Iranian team departed for Switzerland on Saturday for talks with the United States, Iranian state media reported, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance indicated he would set off soon for meetings that Pakistan said will begin on Sunday.

Iran

Trump's surrender: How a President forgot his own country's dead

There are mistakes, and then there are betrayals dressed up as diplomacy. Donald Trump's memorandum of understanding with Iran - one that folds Lebanon into a ceasefire framework between Israel and Hezbollah - belongs firmly in the second category.

Politics

Spain's toxic twosome

The wife of Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez must stand trial on corruption charges and has been banned from leaving the country, a judge ruled on Saturday.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.