The United States is expected to announce progress this week in efforts to advance a trilateral agreement involving Lebanon and Israel, with Washington seeking to finalize monitoring arrangements for pilot zones in southern Lebanon and establish a framework for an international conference to support Lebanon’s economy and finances, Annahar newspaper said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly instructed his team to work toward achieving both objectives by the middle of the month, in a renewed push to move the agreement forward after weeks of stagnation.

The prolonged deadlock has drawn sharp criticism of the Lebanese State, while disagreements over the composition and mandate of a proposed monitoring mechanism remain a major obstacle to progress.

Israel has opposed the participation of several countries, particularly France, complicating efforts to establish an arrangement acceptable to the parties involved. Washington, meanwhile, is not considering deploying U.S. troops to southern Lebanon.

Instead, the United States is exploring ways to involve French personnel in parts of Lebanon far from the south and areas where Israeli forces are deployed. It is also considering the involvement of European forces that would work in close coordination with Washington.

The proposed monitoring mechanism is intended to oversee arrangements in designated pilot zones in southern Lebanon. However, the dispute over which countries could participate and where international personnel could operate has complicated efforts to put it in place.

A U.S. State Department official stressed that any international presence must be directly linked to the objectives of the framework agreement, rather than becoming part of an open-ended mediation process that continues without a resolution.

“The United States is prepared to discuss measures that would meaningfully support the disarmament of Hezbollah and strengthen the capabilities of the Lebanese army,” the official told Al Arabiya.