Lebanon’s President Heads to the White House Over Israeli Withdrawal
The Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, departed for Washington to meet President Trump, the first visit by a Lebanese head of state since 2009. Mr Aoun will press for American guarantees on an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, reinforcement of the fragile framework agreement, and a reconstruction package. The trip follows US-mediated talks in Rome that agreed “pilot zones” for a phased Israeli pull-back.
More than 4,250 people have been killed in Lebanon since March and about a million displaced, yet Israeli forces remain inside parts of the south and continue periodic strikes. Hezbollah has rejected the framework outright and refuses to disarm, arguing that only Iranian pressure can force an Israeli withdrawal — a stance that sharpens the stakes as its patron fights Washington across the Gulf. For Mr Aoun, a public American commitment to pressure Israel is the central prize of the visit. Watch whether Mr Trump offers one, and how Hezbollah responds to a deal struck over its objections.