Berri has 'something to say' when talks end but 'will not speak for now'

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is "opti-pessimistic" regarding the third round of direct talks with Israel, noting that "there is no ceasefire" and reiterating his preference for indirect negotiations to reach a genuine truce.

A nominal ceasefire reached last month has spared Beirut from strikes, but war has continued in southern and eastern Lebanon. A strike also targeted Beirut's southern suburbs during the truce.

"I am opti-pessimistic (about the negotiations)," Berri told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Friday. "I will not speak for now; but when the negotiations end, I will have something to say."

Berri added that any agreement must be under a "Saudi-Iranian-American umbrella."