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Aoun wants US help to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah and for Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
President Joseph Aoun is in Washington, DC, seeking the help of the United States to get Israel out of southern Lebanon and support the Lebanese army as it seeks to control areas long controlled by Hezbollah.
No he is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, before completing his four-day visit, following part of the negotiations between the US between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Rome last week, where negotiators discussed how to implement the agreement signed by the two sides on June 26.
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Aoun and his wife were he arrived at Joint Base Andrews on Saturday at the beginning of the tour, according to the Lebanese leadership.
This is the first visit to Washington by the head of state of Lebanon since Michel Sleiman met with President Barack Obama in 2009.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who met with Aoun on Sunday, said Washington would accept the full implementation of the deal, warning that Lebanon “will not be at peace” as long as the Hezbollah issue is not resolved.
“How do you take Hezbollah in? You take them out and replace them with a government that has enough power to be the only military in the country,” Rubio said after the meeting.
Skeptics in Lebanon fear that military confrontation with Hezbollah could lead to civil war. Officials have also boosted spending on the nation’s lost jobs to reinvigorate the weak state, a move Rubio reiterated.
“This is not just about the military,” he said. “This is how we can attract more US and foreign investment to Lebanon.”
‘Pilot zones’
Israel’s military said on Monday the gradual withdrawal, which it called a “pilot program”, had begun.
The plan will see Israeli forces withdraw from a handful of areas in southern Lebanon, though it remains in some of the areas it has seized since it escalated its war against Hezbollah in March, killing more than 4,300 people and displacing 1.2 million others.
The plan will also see the Lebanese army seize Hezbollah weapons in southern Lebanon.
On Tuesday, a senior Lebanese security official told Reuters news agency that troops had begun massing in the southern town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh after Israeli forces withdrew from the area.
Although recent talks in Rome indicated that the implementation of the agreement will begin soon, the talks have also highlighted the challenges facing Aoun’s government.
Hezbollah he refused Lebanon’s direct talks with Israel and attempted disarmament, with Israel insisting it will not withdraw completely unless Hezbollah is disarmed and withdrawn.
The Lebanese government came to power on a revolutionary platform in early 2025, pledging to arm all non-governmental groups, including Hezbollah.
The Lebanese army later sent areas of southern Lebanon to seize Hezbollah weapons under the 2024 post-war ceasefire agreement.
But those efforts were hampered after hostilities resumed in March, when Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel in support of Iran, which had been attacked by Israel and the US. This led to another Israeli war in Lebanon.
The Lebanese government blames Hezbollah for dragging the country into another war with Israel, but has also been critical of Israel’s ground attacks and heavy airstrikes in the country.
Despite facing strong political opposition from Hezbollah and its allies in a deeply divided country, Lebanon’s leadership insists that Israel’s withdrawal and international financial support for Lebanon’s armed forces are essential to sustainable security.
