Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets Donald Trump to push Hezbollah disarmament and Israeli withdrawal

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun travelled to Washington for a White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, the first visit by a Lebanese head of state to the White House since 2009. The talks focus on a June 26 framework agreement that calls for the disarmament of Iran‑backed Hezbollah and a phased Israeli pull‑out from southern Lebanon. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who met Aoun on the previous day, said, “As long as this problem persists, Lebanon will never know true peace,” echoing Washington’s demand that Israeli troops remain until Hezbollah is demilitarised.

The United States has begun implementing the agreement’s “pilot zones” in the villages of Froun, Srifa and Zawtar al‑Gharbiyyah, where the Lebanese army is taking security control and preparing to clear Hezbollah weapons as Israeli forces gradually withdraw. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese remain displaced, and Hezbollah has rejected direct talks, keeping the region’s stability precarious. Aoun hopes Trump can pressure Israel to honour the withdrawal timetable while Lebanon advances its own disarmament efforts.