Talks in Rome stall as Lebanon seeks practical guarantees

Sources said the seventh round of talks in Rome on the Lebanese Israeli arrangement stalled after the Israeli delegation refused to grant any third party verification powers and declined to name new trial areas. Diplomatic sources said the deadlock effectively freezes the framework agreement until after the Israeli elections. In parallel, Washington told the relevant parties that continuing the talks is more important than exchanging accusations over the Majdal Zoun blast, while Lebanon asked mediators for practical guarantees to prevent Israel from turning every security incident into a wave of airstrikes.