×

Israeli foreign minister denies reports of Lebanon talks, interceptor shortages

By Thomson Reuters Mar 15, 2026 | 5:29 AM

ZAZIR, northern Israel, March 15 (Reuters) – Israel’s foreign minister on Sunday denied reports that Israel could soon ​hold direct talks with Lebanon ‌and rejected claims it had told the United States it was running low on interceptors.

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on Saturday that Israel ‌and ​Lebanon were expected to ⁠hold direct talks ⁠in the coming days. Semafor also reported that Israel had informed Washington it was running critically low on ballistic ​missile interceptors.

Both reports cited unnamed sources.

Asked about the weekend reports, Foreign ⁠Minister Gideon Saar said: “For ⁠the two questions, the answer ​is no.”

He also said that Israel sees “eye-to-eye” ​with the U.S. in the war ‌with Iran, now in its 16th day, and that the two allies were determined to continue until their ⁠goals are achieved.

“We want to remove the existential threats from Iran for the long term. ⁠We don’t ‌want to go every ⁠year to another war,” he ​told ‌reporters.

Saar was speaking from a ​Bedouin Arab ⁠town in northern Israel near an Israeli Air Force base where homes were damaged in an Iranian missile attack last week.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by ​Joe Bavier)