US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) speaks during a meeting with Lebanon’s Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad (2R) and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter (2L) at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. © AFP, Oliver Contreras
Israel and Lebanon agreed to hold direct negotiations after “productive discussions” between the two sides in Washington, US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Tuesday. Earlier, US President Trump flagged the potential for a second round of Iran peace talks “over the next two days” in Pakistan.
- The Lebanese militia Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from the direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday.
- US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran wants to make a deal and that he will not come to any agreement that allows Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
- A prolonged crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a global agrifood catastrophe by disrupting fertiliser and energy exports, driving up food prices and squeezing crop yields, the UNFood and Agriculture Organisation said on Monday.
