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Iran and Oman are working on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and other Mideast developments

The Associated Press · back to the audit

Iran and Oman are working on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and other Mideast developments

Lebanese and Israeli negotiators are meeting in Rome for the seventh round of negotiations on a ceasefire agreement for Lebanon.

Israeli and Lebanese officials met in Rome on Tuesday to continue talks on implementing a U.S.-mediated deal to draw down the Israeli military from southern Lebanon and disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

A diplomat familiar with the negotiations said Lebanon had asked for the next "pilot zone" - where Israeli forces would withdraw and the Lebanese army would take control - to be either in the town of Khiam or Bint Jbeil. Both areas saw heavy fighting in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war and are currently occupied by Israeli forces.

But U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa suggested ahead of the three-day talks that no new pilot zones would be immediately implemented, saying that "moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect."

Implementation of the June 26 agreement began last month with an initial pilot zone in an area that wasn't occupied by Israeli forces but had previously sustained Israeli fire.