WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President pledged to help 鈥渁 lot鈥� during a White House meeting on Tuesday with the country鈥檚 leader, Joseph Aoun, who came to push for long-term calm after months of war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.
The U.S. has championed peace in Lebanon but has been increasingly distracted by new escalation of the , which has destabilized much of the Middle East. Trump says he now has little interest in talks with Iran鈥檚 leaders to end the war.
In the meantime, Lebanon and Israel have held rare direct talks mediated by Washington.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a very badly treated place and country, and we鈥檙e going to have it properly treated and treated with the respect it deserves,鈥� Trump told Aoun during a meeting which wrapped the Lebanese leader鈥檚 four-day visit to Washington. 鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna help it a lot,鈥� he said of Lebanon, without giving concrete details.
Hours later, Trump made the surprise announcement that he鈥檇 allow American carriers to resume direct flights to Lebanon for the first time in 40-plus years after the US suspended the route.
鈥淚 am hereby directing my Administration to allow all U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land,鈥� Trump said on social media after Aoun had left the White House.
It is highly unlikely U.S. carriers will want to fly into Lebanon in the near future, however, as the situation in Iran disrupts larger air traffic and questions Hezbollah’s influence in parts of the country remain. Direct flights between the U.S. and Lebanon were suspended in 1985 by the Reagan administration following the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.
Lebanon hopes the Washington talks result in Israeli troops withdrawing from large swaths of southern Lebanon that they currently occupy, and the Lebanese military receiving support to assert full control in areas where Hezbollah militants had held sway.
Trump said of Israel鈥檚 army withdrawing from Lebanon, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e in the process of doing that,鈥� but didn’t elaborate.
Aoun told Trump, 鈥淵our vision is peace,鈥� calling it Trump’s 鈥渓egacy.鈥� He also said Trump was a 鈥済reat president.鈥�
Trump responded by joking, 鈥淚 do agree with that鈥� and said Aoun was handsome and 鈥渒nows how to get to me,鈥� adding, 鈥淣ow he can have anything.鈥�
A framework agreement is being tested
Lebanon and Israel on June 26, setting a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw and for the disarmament of Hezbollah, which for decades had a strong presence in southern Lebanon. The deal’s implementation was to begin in small 鈥減ilot zones.鈥�
The U.S. State Department said Monday that operations in three villages of one pilot zone had begun. Two of them 鈥� Froun and Srifa 鈥� were not under Israeli military control to begin with, and the Lebanese army was already present there, while Israeli forces were at one point in a part of the third village, Zawtar al-Gharbieh.
The Israeli military said it would 鈥渁djust its force posture in one of the pilot areas in order to enable the Lebanese Armed Forces to carry out their mission,鈥� without specifying the location.
The Lebanese army said it began deploying troops in Zawtar al-Gharbieh.
The June 26 agreement also lays out steps toward an eventual Israel-Lebanon peace agreement. The two countries have never had formal diplomatic ties and have been nominally in a state of war for nearly 80 years after Israel鈥檚 establishment.
Trump noted Tuesday of Lebanon, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a Hezbollah problem鈥� and suggested that he personally could speak with that group if Aoun wanted him to. He also again floated the idea of having 鈥� though he didn’t fully commit to that.
Such a concept would be highly unpopular in Lebanon and potentially embarrass Aoun.
Confusion over pilot zone implementation
It remained unclear whether Israeli troops actually withdrew from any territory. A Lebanese military official said the Lebanese army was unsure whether Israeli forces had been in Zawtar al-Gharbieh before Tuesday, but that they were in adjacent areas and would open fire on anyone who tried to enter.
An Israeli military official said Israeli forces had not been in Zawtar al-Gharbieh 鈥渇or quite a time鈥� and 鈥渨e didn鈥檛 withdraw from there.鈥� Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with military regulations.
Still, the pilot zones got off to a rocky start.
The Lebanese military said Israeli troops fired Tuesday near an area where they were deploying. The Israeli military said Lebanese soldiers had entered an area that was not part of the pilot zone and Israeli troops fired warning shots in the air.
The Lebanese army disputed this, saying its soldiers were within the pilot zone when Israeli troops opened fire. It called on Israel to resolve disputes through 鈥渆stablished coordination and communication channels, instead of resorting to aggression.鈥�
A village mayor is cautious
Abed Ezzeldine, mayor of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, was waiting for word from the Lebanese military on whether it’s safe for displaced residents to check on their homes.
He said the civilians would go in, but 鈥渙nly to check it out and see how things are and then we will leave.鈥�
鈥淲e can鈥檛 stay because the infrastructure is completely damaged and houses have been leveled. They (the Israelis) have bulldozed the roads,鈥� he added.
The Lebanese military last week increased its presence in some of the areas expected to be included in the pilot zone, with troops patrolling and setting up checkpoints.
Rubio says US will support the framework agreement
Aoun also met Sunday with Secretary of State , who said Washington will continue to endorse the Lebanese agreement. Rubio warned that Lebanon will 鈥渘ever be fully at peace鈥� as long as the Hezbollah issue is not resolved.
鈥淗ow do you replace Hezbollah? You defeat and replace them with a government that is strong enough to be the sole force of arms in the country,鈥� Rubio said.
Skeptics in Lebanon fear that a military confrontation with Hezbollah could lead to a civil war.
Government officials have urged investment in the country’s battered infrastructure to empower the weakened state, which Rubio echoed.
Israel plans on a long-term presence
Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said they plan to keep troops long-term in a 鈥渟ecurity zone鈥� in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has dismissed the U.S.-brokered direct talks and instead backed Washington鈥檚 talks with its key ally and patron Iran to end their war, which includes ending the war in Lebanon as a condition.
Lebanon鈥檚 government came to power on a reformist platform in early 2025, vowing to disarm all non-state groups, including Hezbollah, which it blames for dragging the country into another war with Israel in March, when the militant group fired several rockets toward northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
Beirut’s leadership, however, has condemned Israel鈥檚 subsequent ground invasion and massive aerial campaign in the country, which has killed over 4,000 people and displaced 1.2 million others.
While grappling with stark political opposition from Hezbollah and allies within the deeply divided country, Lebanon’s leadership insists that Israeli withdrawal and international financial support for Lebanon鈥檚 cash-strapped army are crucial for a sustainable security solution.
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Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto and Erin Cunningham in Jerusalem, Abby Sewell in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
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