Trump vows to help Lebanon with ‘Hezbollah problem’ in meeting with Aoun

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with his US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday, as pressure builds for Beirut to disarm Shiite militant group Hezbollah, Israel's key condition before withdrawing its troops from south Lebanon.

During a press conference at the White House, Trump promised to help Lebanon. “It’s been a very badly treated place and country, and we’re going to have it properly treated and treated with respect that it deserves,” Trump said as Aoun sat beside him in the Oval Office. “There’s a Hezbollah problem.”

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Aoun called for Trump to maintain his support for Lebanon's military, warning that the south of the country could see a return of the chaos of the 1970s without Washington's backing.

"We don't want to see that back again. All we're asking is, keep supporting the LAF," Aoun told reporters of the Lebanese Armed Forces. "All we're asking is, keep supporting the LAF... I fully trust the LAF. I fully trust the leadership of the LAF."

The meeting comes a day after the US, which has sponsored negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, announced the start of the implementation of an agreement granting the Lebanese army control over "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon.

These zones are primarily located just outside lands Israel occupied after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March following the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

That deal ⁠aims to disarm Hezbollah, see a progressive Israeli troop withdrawal and set the stage for peaceful ties between the two countries.

Hours ahead of Aoun’s meeting with Trump, Lebanese army troops began taking control of territory vacated by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon – the first test of the plan.

Israeli resistance to withdrawal

Israel has nonetheless consistently refused to pull out as long as Hezbollah remains armed – a demand echoed by Washington.

"As long as that problem exists, Lebanon will never truly get peace," US State Secretary Marco Rubio said after meeting Aoun on Sunday.

A Lebanese official said Aoun believes only Trump possesses the leverage needed to pressure Israel to withdraw ​its troops and help Lebanon restore its sovereignty.

The official said that Aoun, in addition to asking the US president to press Israel to withdraw, would also present Trump ‌with a written proposal on how to decommission Hezbollah’s massive arsenal.

“This will be your legacy,” Aoun told Trump. “Together, we will be able to achieve this objective. It’s about time for Lebanon and the whole region to be stable and secure.”

Read moreMiddle East war: Lebanon, Israel and US sign framework agreement in Washington

Aoun is the first Lebanese president to be invited to Washington since 2009.

Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, said that while the meeting "demonstrates a continued US interest in Lebanon", it "raises a lot of concern around what more Lebanon may be asked to do".

'A dangerous idea'

Aoun, who previously served as the commander of Lebanon's US-backed army, has vowed to disarm Hezbollah since being elected as president in early 2025 with Western support, marking a major political shift in Lebanon.

However, Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected disarmament.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,300 people in Lebanon since fighting began in March, according to authorities. Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced following Israel's invasion of the country's south. 

Violence has significantly decreased after the signing of a framework agreement between the US and Iran last month, along with Lebanon's continued negotiations with Israel.

Under the agreement, the Israeli military is to withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army is to deploy, starting with two "pilot zones".

Despite agreement with Israel, situation in Lebanon remains unchanged

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But the deal is contingent on the disarmament of Hezbollah, which has flatly rejected both the deal and the Israel-Lebanon negotiations that underpin it.

Yahya believes the agreement is "deeply disadvantageous" to Lebanon.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)