Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will visit the White House this week to present a plan to US President Donald Trump on how to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and ensure Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon.
اضافة اعلان
Aoun, who served as the commander of the Lebanese Army before being elected president last year, is the first Lebanese president to visit the White House in nearly 20 years, marking his first face-to-face meeting with Trump.
Tuesday's meeting comes at a critical moment for Lebanon. Israeli forces occupy a vast area of the south, and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese remain displaced following Israeli strikes. Meanwhile, Hezbollah strongly rejects the government's direct talks with Israel and state efforts to disarm the group.
In statements published by his office last week, Aoun said he would ask Trump to "exert the necessary pressure on Israel" to implement the US-brokered June 26 agreement between Lebanon and Israel. The agreement aims to disarm Hezbollah, gradually withdraw Israeli forces, and pave the way for peaceful relations between the two countries.
A Lebanese official stated that Aoun will present Trump with a written proposal on how to dismantle Hezbollah's massive arsenal. The official added that Aoun believes Trump alone possesses the leverage needed to pressure Israel to withdraw its forces and help Lebanon reclaim its sovereignty.
Seeking to Disarm Hezbollah
The 62-year-old Aoun assumed the presidency of Lebanon last year, shortly before Trump began his second term in the White House, an election welcomed by the United States.
His rise marked a major shift in Lebanon's balance of power following a devastating Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in 2024 and the ousting of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key ally of the Lebanese group—seismic events that weakened the group and its long-standing, decisive grip on the state.
At his inauguration, Aoun pledged to assert Lebanon's right to confine weapons solely to the state.
The first year of his presidency was characterized by a government push to disarm Hezbollah, which was founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guard in 1982 and has fought numerous wars with Israel.
Lebanese troops deployed to the south of the country to secure weapons contained in Hezbollah's arms depots, in line with the ceasefire that followed the 2024 war, facing no opposition from the exhausted forces of Hezbollah.
Outbreak of a New War
However, at the beginning of the second year of Aoun's term, a new war erupted when Hezbollah opened fire on Israel on March 2 in support of Iran, which had come under a US-Israeli attack.
Hezbollah's attack was followed by a fierce Israeli air and ground campaign, which the Lebanese Ministry of Health stated has killed more than 4,300 people, including nearly 800 children, women, and paramedics.
Reuters
