After Denouncing the State and Government... Hezbollah Hints at Dialogue with Washington

Italy, from which President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun returned after concluding key talks in Vatican City and Rome, will remain at the center of events early next week, following the anticipated visit of Army Commander General Rudolph Huwaila, which will complement Aoun’s visit and focus particularly on ways to support the Lebanese Army, mechanisms for verifying disarmament in southern Lebanon, and Italy’s role in the new force that may be established after the end of UNIFIL’s mandate.

Amid continued airstrikes and explosions in several southern towns, a surprising statement emerged from Mahmoud Qamati, a member of Hezbollah’s political council, who said that Hezbollah does not definitively close the door to direct communication with Americans, noting that any decision would be made according to interest and suitable circumstances.

This was interpreted by a political source closely following developments as telling "Al-Nidaa al-Watani" that Qamati’s statement was not a slip of the tongue but a direct message to the Americans, implying that Hezbollah has come to realize its political and military strength is no longer what it once was—and is no longer sufficient to govern the country according to Iranian interests, as demonstrated by a series of recent political and security developments.

The source added that Hezbollah, now recognizing there is no turning back from the negotiation path pursued by the government with unwavering determination, will seek to secure gains that compensate for its successive setbacks on the ground and in the political arena, and this may well be the objective behind its outreach toward the United States—especially since it previously accused the presidency and the government of "the greatest betrayal" when they entered direct negotiations with Israel under American mediation.

At the same time, controversial remarks surfaced from U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barak, who stated that "any serious settlement in Lebanon must include Hezbollah and Iran," arguing that gathering all Lebanese factions around one table is insufficient if the negotiation process fails to account for the "actual power structure" in Lebanon. He asked: "How can the issue be resolved if Hezbollah and Iran are not involved?"

Meanwhile, the Syrian scene continues to witness consecutive security developments, most recently an Israeli drone strike targeting a vehicle in the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, following days of airstrikes on a Syrian military base near the Turkish border, which prompted U.S. criticism and an angry response from Israel.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the strike, calling it a blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while the Israeli military stated its forces opened fire "in southern Syria against a terrorist who had reached advanced stages in preparing terrorist attacks."

"Al-Nidaa al-Watani"