Lebanon has not agreed to shortlist of countries that could verify Hezbollah's disarmament, official says

BEIRUT, Aug 13 (Reuters) – A Lebanese official denied on Thursday a Reuters report that Beirut had agreed with Israel to a shortlist of countries that could send troops to Lebanon to verify the disarmament of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and said it was following up on the issue with Washington.

A June 26 deal brokered by the U.S. linked the progressive withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon to the “verified disarmament” of all non-state armed groups by the Lebanese government. Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement, has rejected disarming.

Reuters reported last week that Lebanon and Israel had agreed to a shortlist and reported on Wednesday, citing three sources, that the list included Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia as potential contributors to the verification mechanism.

A Lebanese official on Thursday said there was no such agreement and that Beirut was still in discussions with the United States on the matter.

A State Department official said on Tuesday that a round of U.S.-brokered meetings between Lebanon and Israel in Rome last week discussed the “third-party verification” of the Lebanese army’s “clearance operations” but did not mention the shortlist or the countries involved.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Aidan Lewis)