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United States President Donald Trump has pledged support for Lebanon, while the country’s President, Joseph Aoun, seeks Washington’s assistance to disarm Hezbollah and achieve lasting peace with Israel.
Speaking during a meeting with Aoun at the White House on Tuesday, Trump described Lebanon as a country that had suffered for decades and promised continued US assistance.
“We’re going to help it a lot,” Trump told reporters.
Aoun, the first Lebanese president to visit Washington since 2009, appealed for continued US support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), describing the military as the backbone of the country’s security and stability.
Following the meeting, Aoun thanked Trump for supporting Lebanon’s sovereignty, state institutions and armed forces.
The visit came as the Lebanese army began deploying to parts of southern Lebanon under a US-backed agreement with Israel aimed at extending state authority and disarming the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Credit: Reuters
However, the deployment was briefly disrupted after the Lebanese army accused Israeli troops of opening fire near its personnel in one of the designated pilot zones.
The Israeli military said its troops only fired warning shots after Lebanese soldiers entered an area outside the agreed deployment zone, adding that no injuries were recorded.
Lebanon faces increasing pressure to disarm Hezbollah, which Israel has made a key condition for ending its military presence in southern Lebanon.
Aoun has repeatedly pledged to bring all weapons under state control, but Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm and opposed the agreement with Israel.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Lebanon would not achieve lasting peace while Hezbollah remained armed, praising the Lebanese Government’s efforts to restore state authority.
Trump also warned Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels against carrying out threats to blockade Saudi Arabian ports, saying the United States would respond if such action occurred.
