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Aoun meets Trump in Washington
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met US President Donald Trump at the White House, and Federal Lebanon said the meeting was welcomed as strengthening Lebanon’s international standing and potentially accelerating efforts to disarm Hezbollah and restore the Lebanese state’s full sovereignty.
Federal Lebanon’s statement said, “After years of Syrian occupation following the end of the civil war, followed by years of odious Iranian hegemony, we hope that Lebanon will find its way toward regaining its independent national decision-making.”
The group also said the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons would not be resolved by the visit alone, arguing that the Shia militia “has refused — and continues to refuse — to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese Army.”
Federal Lebanon further praised Aoun’s remarks about a potential framework agreement with Israel, saying his reminder at the White House that signing the framework agreement “does not require parliamentary approval” fell within his executive powers as president.
Hezbollah denounces the meeting
Hezbollah denounced the Aoun–Trump meeting, saying it revealed “the extent of dependence and submission (by the government) to foreign tutelage.”
Noovo Info reported that Trump said he wanted to “help Lebanon a lot” as a Washington-sponsored agreement with Israel entered its first phase, with the Lebanese army to be deployed in “pilot zones” evacuated by Israel subject to the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah lamented that Aoun’s visit “produced no American commitment” to a withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon, and said it had not ended Israeli fire nor allowed displaced residents to return.
Noovo Info added that the Lebanese army began deploying on Tuesday in the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, and that army chief Rodolphe Haykal traveled to the site on Thursday to “reviewed the measures taken” to “guarantee the safe return of the residents.”
Implementation tests and disputed roles
Lebanon’s political debate over the Aoun–Trump talks also centered on whether Syria should be involved in the Hezbollah disarmament file, with Elaph reporting that Aoun requested not to drag in interim Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Elaph quoted diplomatic sources saying Aoun “explicitly requested not to drag in the interim Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Hezbollah disarmament file,” stressing that it was a strictly Lebanese domestic matter.
The talks were described as coinciding with the launch of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered “experimental area” plan, with units of the Lebanese Army deployed in the Western Zoutr area as Israeli forces pulled back, while Israel fired warning shots when Lebanese troops entered a zone Israel said was not part of the experimental area.
In the same account, Lebanon’s Health Ministry figures were cited as “about 1.2 million Lebanese civilians” displaced and “4,328 Lebanese” killed, as the agreement remained in its early stages and faced “strong opposition in both Lebanon and Israel.”
