Freddie Everett / U.S. Department of State
PARIS – Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the United States is exploring a possible civilian mission to verify security arrangements in southern Lebanon, but any system would need agreement from both Israel and Lebanon. No new mission was announced.
“It doesn’t have to be a military mission. It could be a civilian mission,” Rubio said in remarks to reporters in Paris after discussing the issue with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The goal, Rubio said, is to find a trusted group on the ground that can monitor whether both sides are meeting their commitments in pilot zones. He described the intended sequence as Israeli forces leaving and the Lebanese Armed Forces taking control without Hezbollah returning to use those areas to launch attacks.
“We need a verification system trusted by everyone and trusted by both sides that both sides are complying with their obligations under the agreements that are in place,” he said.
The distinction between a military force and a civilian verifier is central to the options under discussion. Rubio said the role would be to establish who is complying with the agreements, rather than saying a new armed peacekeeping deployment had been agreed.
Asked whether the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, could be involved, Rubio said the existing mission was expiring and that something could replace it in a verification role. He did not identify an organization, participating countries, personnel numbers or a deployment date.
“But again, the details of that are still being worked on,” he said. “It could be a civilian mission, but it’s a trusted verifier is what we’re searching for.”
Rubio said France could help with that effort. He stressed that the ideas discussed with Macron were sensitive and not ready for a public presentation because an arrangement would require the agreement of both the Lebanese and the Israelis.
The remarks put verification, rather than a newly approved mission, at the center of the discussions. The proposed system would be intended to give both governments a shared basis for assessing whether withdrawals and the transfer of control to Lebanese forces are being carried out as agreed.
Archive photo: Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at a press availability in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on February 6, 2025. Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett, public domain, cropped to 16:9. It does not show Monday’s remarks in Paris.
JBizNews Desk | Paris
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