Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will meet with Trump on Tuesday at the White House, the first US visit by a Lebanese head of state in nearly 20 years, as the two seek to advance a US-brokered plan to disarm Hezbollah and secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
The meeting follows last week’s ambassador-level talks in Rome and Sunday’s meeting between Aoun and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
On Monday, the State Department announced the launch of “pilot zone operations” in three southern Lebanese villages, where US-backed Lebanese Armed Forces are expected to replace withdrawing Israeli troops under the June 26 framework agreement, though only one of the sites currently has Israeli forces.
Aoun plans to urge Trump to pressure Israel to implement the deal; Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s insistence on maintaining troops may complicate the peace push.