MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The United States and Iran both say they've sent delegations to Qatar today.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
They're showing up for talks over a long-term peace agreement, although, as we will hear, it is not clear they actually will talk to each other. The two sides have traded attacks in recent days rather than words. In a moment, we'll talk with a member of Congress who's been hearing from the administration on their plans to resolve the war. We begin with the facts on the ground.
MARTIN: We're joined now by NPR's Ruth Sherlock in Beirut. Hello, Ruth.
RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE: Hi. Good morning.
MARTIN: So President Trump said the U.S. and Iran had planned to meet. The Iranians say they are not. So what can you tell us about what's actually happening?
SHERLOCK: Well, the White House says President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff have gone to Doha. But as you say, Iran says they're not there to meet them. Iran says this meeting is with Qatari officials on topics including the release of billions of dollars of frozen assets. That was in the memorandum of understanding, this MOU signed between the U.S. and Iran. Iran's president has said he expects around half - $6 billion - of these frozen assets in Qatar to be released in this interim phase.
You know, underpinning the hurry here is this fundamental lack of trust on both sides, but the Iranians in particular are worried that with all the back-and-forth and failed previous talks, the Trump administration would renege on its commitments. And, you know, as you mentioned, it's not been going well recently. The Iranians are also furious about a separate deal the U.S. brokered between Israel and Lebanon.
MARTIN: So let's talk more about the deal. What are the Iranians unhappy with?
SHERLOCK: Well, Israel is fighting Hezbollah, the militia in Lebanon, which is heavily supported by Iran. And the deal says Hezbollah would be disarmed. And crucially, it makes Israel's full withdrawal from the large amounts of land it's occupying now here actually conditional on Hezbollah first disarming. Hezbollah was never part of the agreement and has outright rejected it, calling it a surrender of sovereignty. And this, though, has also been widely criticized by independent experts who say the problem here is the Lebanese army, who would disarm Hezbollah, is quite weak and is simply unable to do this. And therefore, this agreement essentially cedes Lebanese territory to Israel.
MARTIN: You've also been speaking to some of the people displaced from these southern areas. What are you hearing from them?
SHERLOCK: You know, people here told us they feel sold out by the Lebanese government over this deal. Many are from areas that are now controlled by Israel. Israel says it's weakened Hezbollah enough that the Lebanese army can now take over these southern border areas and oversee disarmament. But there is still support for Hezbollah in these areas by people who see them as a protector from Israel. Lebanon is a country of many religions with a long history of sectarian violence.
I spoke with Ali Chaito (ph), who's a mechanical engineering student who's displaced. He now lives in a tent in Beirut. And he warned that if the Lebanese army tries to remove Hezbollah's weapons, it could push the country to civil war.
ALI CHAITO: To have a war between each other, not with another country. No one could take the weapon of Hezbollah.
SHERLOCK: Lebanon's president insists that the Lebanese army will deploy to the southern border. Israel has agreed to withdraw initially from a couple of towns in the south that are going to be called pilot zones, where the Lebanese army would deploy and disarm Hezbollah. But as I said, many Lebanese are really worried about all this.
MARTIN: That's NPR's Ruth Sherlock joining us from Beirut. Ruth, thank you.
SHERLOCK: Thanks, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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