US envoy warns Lebanon that Israel will likely attack if it doesn’t disarm Hezbollah

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Lebanon Thomas Barrack delivers a statement following a meeting with Lebanon's president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on August 26, 2025. (Anwar Amro/AFP)
US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Lebanon Thomas Barrack delivers a statement following a meeting with Lebanon's president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on August 26, 2025. (Anwar Amro/AFP)

If Lebanon does not disarm Hezbollah, Israel will likely attack the Shiite terrorist group, warns US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack.

“Should Beirut continue to hesitate, Israel may act unilaterally – and the consequences would be grave,” cautions Barrack in a long post on X.

“If Beirut fails to act, Hizballah’s military arm will inevitably face major confrontation with Israel at a moment of Israel’s strength and Iran backed Hizballah’s weakest point,” writes Barrack, who is also the US envoy to Turkey.

A range of US-backed initiatives in Lebanon meant to nudge Lebanon toward peace with Israel “have stalled,” he laments.

Barrack also insists that “Saudi Arabia now stands at the precipice of formal accession” to the Abraham Accords, an assessment that is rosier than most recent reports.

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