The main topic for the "New York Times" today is yesterday's talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, BTA reported.
The meeting ended with encouraging words, although Israel continues to refuse to stop its military campaign against the pro-Iranian movement "Hezbollah" in Lebanon, the American publication writes.
"New York Times" notes that Israel and Lebanon rarely hold direct talks and that the administration of US President Donald Trump has managed to bring together neighbors who share one of the most violent borders in the Middle East.
The talks, hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ended with discussions of further meetings, although no specific commitments were made.
But the very fact that the meeting took place underlines the extent of Israel and Lebanon's shared desire to disarm "Hezbollah", the armed group based in southern Lebanon. Iran and "Hezbollah" were not part of the talks and oppose them.
"The New York Times" focuses on the words of the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, that Israel and Lebanon are on the same side and share the view that "the evil of "Hezbollah" must be eradicated". The American publication notes that the Israeli-Lebanese talks lasted more than two hours.
The American newspaper reports, citing a person familiar with the negotiations, that Lebanese representatives expressed their desire to force "Hezbollah" to lay down their arms and asked for American help for the under-equipped Lebanese army in carrying out this dangerous task.
The meeting between Israel and Lebanon at the US State Department is officially separate from President Trump's diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement with Iran. American and Israeli officials have made it clear that they do not consider Lebanon to be part of the negotiations with Iran. However, Iran disagrees, notes the "New York Times". Iranian officials insist that the April 7 ceasefire agreement between their government and the United States also includes Lebanon, where Israel has been attacking Hezbollah targets for weeks. Pakistani mediators in the truce deal support Iran's position.
Lebanon has been a battleground for Israel and Hezbollah since the armed group was founded in 1982 to fight Israeli forces that entered southern Lebanon to eliminate Palestinian activists.
Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have clashed along the Israeli-Lebanese border, with Israel frequently bombing and occupying Lebanese territory, saying it is acting in response to rocket attacks by the armed movement across the border.
With Hezbollah's decline, and Iran, in the wake of devastating American and Israeli attacks, the Lebanese government is taking bolder action against "Hezbollah", which operates as an independent army on Lebanese territory, concludes the "New York Times".
V. "Financial Times", in connection with the conflict in the Middle East, writes that Iran secretly used a Chinese intelligence satellite that enabled the Islamic Republic to attack American military bases in the Middle East.