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Aoun meets Rubio in Washington
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department at the start of his official visit to Washington, where they discussed the US-Israel-Lebanon Trilateral Framework.
“Lebanese President Joseph Aoun left Beirut on Saturday for Washington, where he is expected to meet Donald Trump, the Lebanese presidency announced, after the conclusion of talks between Lebanon and Israel in Italy”
The Lebanese presidency statement said Aoun stressed “the need to align the Lebanese and US positions on implementing the Trilateral Framework between Lebanon, Israel and the US by securing the first Israeli withdrawal from the first pilot area.”
Rubio reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to the “successful implementation of the Trilateral Framework” and to supporting Lebanon’s “efforts to deliver peace, economic recovery, and a better future for the Lebanese people.”
Aoun arrived in Washington on Saturday for a four-day official visit and is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, with meetings also expected with members of the US Senate and officials from the Trump administration.
The talks come as Israel continues its attacks on Lebanon despite the two sides signing a US-sponsored framework agreement on 26 June, which provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal beginning with two pilot areas.
Disarmament and Hezbollah dispute
At the meeting in Washington, Rubio praised Aoun’s push to disarm Hezbollah, with The Times of Israel saying Rubio “commended the courage of the government of Lebanon, under President Aoun’s leadership, for their determined effort to reclaim Lebanon’s sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure.”
The Times of Israel reported that the framework agreement reached on June 26 is contingent on the disarmament of the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, which has flatly rejected both the deal and the Israel-Lebanon negotiations that underpin it.
Al Jazeera said Aoun told Rubio that Lebanon and the US needed to work together to put the US-backed agreement signed on June 26 into effect, starting with an initial Israeli troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon, according to an X post from the Lebanese presidency.
Al Jazeera also reported that before leaving Beirut, Aoun said he would urge Trump to “exert the necessary pressure on Israel” to implement the agreement, which envisions the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli troop withdrawal, and a path towards more stable relations.
The same Al Jazeera report said negotiators in Rome discussed how to implement the June framework, while Hezbollah rejected direct negotiations with Israel and Israel insisted it will not fully withdraw unless Hezbollah is disarmed and demilitarised.
Pilot zones talks postponed
As Aoun prepares to meet Trump, the US has postponed a virtual meeting between Lebanese, Israeli and US military delegations that had been expected on Friday to discuss the first phase of the “pilot zones” plan, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Lebanese president meets top US diplomat at start of Washington visit Joseph Aoun scheduled to meet Trump at White House on Tuesday Naim Berjawi, Rania Abushamala and Berk Kutay Gokmen 19 July 2026•Update: 19 July 2026 BEIRUT / ISTANBUL Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Sunday met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the start of his official visit to Washington, according to a US State Department readout”
Asharq Al-Awsat said the delay puts the practical rollout of the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel on hold, particularly the pilot zone arrangements, and renews questions over an implementation process that still has no clear timetable.
Arab News reported that a planned virtual meeting between Lebanese, Israeli and US military representatives to discuss the implementation of pilot zones in southern Lebanon was postponed on Friday, with a Lebanese military source saying “It was supposed to take place today, but no time had actually been set for it.”
Arab News added that tensions continued on the ground, including an Israeli tank advancing along the main road connecting Mansouri and Bouyout Al-Sayyad on the Tyre-Naqoura route and positioning itself near a Lebanese army checkpoint before later withdrawing.
The postponement comes amid disputes over what the pilot zones should include, with Arab News quoting retired Brig. Gen. Mounir Chehade warning the delay was not “merely a procedural detail that can be overlooked,” and framing the core contention as Lebanon’s insistence that pilot zones reflect Israeli-occupied territory during the war.
