Exclusive JNews Lebanon
“Jnews Lebanon” has learned from high-level diplomatic sources close to the indirect talks in the Italian capital that the sixth round of negotiations witnessed stormy discussions behind closed doors today, moving far past broad headlines to collide with the complex logistical details of the “pilot zones formula.”
Our exclusive sources from the corridors of the highly classified meeting rooms reveal the following insights from today’s proceedings:
- The 4 Additional Towns Equation: The American side officially informed the Lebanese delegation of a decision to expand the “Pilot Zones” to include 4 new towns completely outside the scope that had been circulated in last week’s drafts. Washington deemed this expansion a critical step to ensure a sufficient security depth to guarantee the success of the experiment before its wider implementation.
- The “Verification Mechanisms” Bottleneck: The most prominent hurdle in today’s session was the Israeli side’s condition to grant the joint technical committees (under US supervision) “intrusive and strict” powers to verify that these areas are entirely clear of heavy weapons and military infrastructure. The Lebanese delegation firmly pushed back against this, insisting on the absolute exclusivity of the Lebanese Army’s sovereignty on the ground and rejecting any formula that grants external entities direct inspection rights.
- The “Yarze-CENTCOM” Coordination and Emergency Plan: Sources confirmed that the Lebanese delegation, through the President’s adviser Retired Brigadier General Ziad Akel, presented a detailed layout of the logistical emergency plan finalized by the Lebanese Army for immediate deployment. The Lebanese blueprint received strong praise from the US military delegation of the Central Command (CENTCOM), which pledged immediate logistical and technical backing to cover deployment costs once a decisive international mandate is secured.
“Jnews Scoop: The final hours behind the closed doors of Rome have turned into a frantic race to establish finalized, agreed-upon maps ahead of President Joseph Aoun’s highly anticipated White House summit.”
Sources for “Jnews Lebanon” conclude by noting that the negotiation atmosphere remains a race against time. Washington is rushing to seal a comprehensive framework to ensure the agreement is ready with “decisive international cover” to secure both funding and deployment, despite the political and field threats launched domestically by Hezbollah against disarmament and the exclusive security authority of the Lebanese state.
