Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is standing firm on negotiations as the "only path" out of the country's crisis after two wars between Hezbollah and Israel.
But the threat of a third war continues to loom large, despite fresh assurances from Hezbollah that it would stay out of any new confrontation involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
Aoun has heard such promises before. He received similar assurances ahead of the second war last March, only for Hezbollah to reverse course following the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Mindful of a Lebanese proverb warning against repeating a failed experience, Aoun is taking the latest assurances with caution. He is equally wary of a tentative dialogue recently opened with Hezbollah.
The president fears a third war could devastate southern Lebanon, particularly the Shiite community, following warnings delivered to him and other Lebanese officials.
The latest came in a telephone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who warned that Hezbollah's entry into any new conflict "would have devastating consequences."
Elections deepen negotiating deadlock
Two elections have cast a long shadow over Lebanon's negotiations with Israel: one in the United States, the sole official sponsor of the talks, and another in Israel.
Concessions from Israel were difficult to secure even under a strong government. Now, inconclusive election results in Israel threaten to prolong the negotiating deadlock.
Washington has yet to set a date for another round of political or military talks, awaiting a clearer picture of Israel's political landscape.
But Beirut does not see the impasse as proof that negotiations have failed.
Aoun continues to confront critics of his approach with a simple question: What is the alternative?
He insists negotiations remain the only way to protect Lebanon and offer its people a measure of hope after the devastating crisis they have endured.
The latest round of military-level talks in the United States underscored the deadlock.
Israeli representatives declined to respond to several Lebanese proposals, saying they needed to consult their political leadership. The talks ended without clear results.
Yet a Lebanese official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the outcome should not be viewed as a failure.
The US side, the source said, was impressed by the Lebanese military delegation's presentation of the army's achievements, contradicting the Israeli side's initial portrayal of its performance. Israeli representatives eventually acknowledged those achievements.
The source said US General Joseph Clearfield explicitly praised the Lebanese army's presentation.
In the small village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya alone, the army carried out more than 1,200 operations to remove ammunition, weapons and military infrastructure after Israeli forces withdrew, the source said.
The village was among the "pilot zones" designated under an arrangement that was never completed because of Israel's failure to cooperate.
Dispute over who verifies disarmament
A dispute over who should verify that the pilot zones are free of weapons remains a key obstacle to resuming negotiations.
Two proposals are on the table, and neither has won agreement.
Israel wants a non-governmental organization (NGO) to carry out the verification, an option Lebanon rejects.
Lebanon instead wants the task assigned to the UN Truce Supervision Organization, whose observers have been stationed in the country since 1949. Israel opposes that proposal.
Aoun defends the army
Aoun has also moved to defend the Lebanese army against mounting criticism, praising its performance and warning against campaigns targeting an institution he considers a guarantee of national security.
Such attacks do little to strengthen domestic stability, he has told visitors, but they will not derail the army's national mission.
The president maintains that the military has "no independent position or agenda of its own" and acts strictly on instructions from the political leadership.
That includes its refusal to open direct channels with the Israeli military.
Aoun said he personally ordered the army not to establish such contact because "it is still far too early" to discuss it.
"Under the current circumstances, direct communication is impossible while the Israeli army occupies our territory and attacks it every day," he said.
Hezbollah explosives stir controversy
A Lebanese official source has played down the uproar over explosives seized by Lebanese security forces in an operation involving Hezbollah members, describing the controversy as excessive.
The case "has followed its legal course. If further steps are required once the investigations are completed, we will take them," the source said.
The remarks appeared to allude to the possibility of referring the case to Lebanon's Judicial Council.
The source stressed that the seizure was hardly unprecedented.
The Lebanese army had carried out two similar operations earlier in the week, followed by a fourth. Previous seizures had also taken place across the country, including in the Bekaa Valley, southern Lebanon and Beirut, without provoking comparable controversy.
Such operations will continue in line with the Lebanese state's commitment to ensuring that weapons remain exclusively under state control, the source said.
The source also rejected reports that Washington had pressured Beirut over the seized explosives.
During his call with Aoun, Rubio merely asked whether reports that the explosives would be returned to Hezbollah were true, the source said.
He raised no other details and requested no additional action.
