Rubio tells Lebanon PM that returning explosives to Hezbollah ‘should be out of question’

The top US diplomat Thursday told the Lebanese president that returning confiscated explosives belonging to Iran-backed Hezbollah “should be out of the question,” according to a State Department official.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with President Joseph Aoun about confiscation of several hundred kilos of explosives from Hezbollah and urged the Lebanese president to hold accountable all those who ordered, financed, and directed the shipment.

The official said Rubio also “underscored that returning explosives to Hezbollah should be out of the question.”

A Hezbollah MP acknowledged Thursday that a 500-kilogram shipment of explosives seized last week by Lebanese authorities belonged to the group, demanding that those arrested be released and the shipment returned to Hezbollah. The MP said these were “capabilities” to be used against Israel.

Separately, Rubio raised a Lebanese law with Aoun, which bans direct communications with Israelis.

Rubio said this deters peace, while urging direct military-to-military communication between Lebanese and Israeli forces for deconfliction.

According to the State Department official, Rubio said these direct talks would “help to reduce miscalculation and to advance sequenced implementation of the Trilateral Framework.”

A State Department official said Rubio also spoke with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, without elaborating on the call’s contents.