Lebanon President Refused 'Direct Call' with Israel PM

(L/R) US State Department Counselor Michael Needham, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanon's Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter stand together before meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun rejected a US request for a direct phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, an official source told AFP.

"The Lebanese president refused a direct call with Netanyahu and informed (US Secretary of State) Marco Rubio of this," adding that "the American side was understanding", the source said.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday the "leaders" of the two countries would speak the following day.

Also, three Lebanese officials affirmed to Reuters that Aoun will not hold a call with Netanyahu in the near future.

Two of the Lebanese officials said that the Lebanese embassy in Washington had informed the US administration before a call between Aoun and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday that Aoun would not speak to Netanyahu.