Lebanese President Joseph Aoun flew to Washington this week on his first visit to the US capital since becoming president in January 2025. It was the first visit by a Lebanese president to Washington since 2009.
One of Aoun’s aims was to persuade US President Donald Trump to intensify US pressure on Israel to complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon. He also sought to ensure tangible US support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) through funding, equipment, training, and capacity-building to enable it to fulfil its mission of asserting the state’s monopoly on the legitimate possession of arms over the entirety of Lebanese territory.
In addition, he hoped to attract American investment for the reconstruction of southern Lebanon.
On 19 July, Aoun met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington. Describing the meeting as “very positive”, Rubio “commended the courage of the government of Lebanon, under President Aoun’s leadership, for their determined effort to reclaim Lebanon’s sovereignty, disarm Hizbullah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure, and move towards peace,” the State Department’s readout of the meeting said.
Aoun stressed the need for the US and Lebanon to align their views on how to implement the trilateral framework agreement, starting with the initial Israeli withdrawals from the designated pilot areas.
The LAF has prepared a phased deployment plan in southern Lebanon to proceed in tandem with the Israeli withdrawals. The purpose is to extend the state’s sovereign authority over the south while preventing Hizbullah from re-establishing its military presence there.
Aoun hopes this plan will receive American support and help him to convince Washington to back the Lebanese army’s efforts instead of pressuring it to implement Israel’s approach.
Israel wants to operate alongside the LAF in southern Lebanon in order to monitor the disarmament of Hizbullah before beginning its withdrawal. The LAF firmly rejects this proposal, which it regards as an infringement of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
On the other hand, the LAF has welcomed the idea of an international military support framework that would not require it to work with Israeli forces in the field. Lebanese officials envision US, European, and possibly Turkish forces taking part in such an arrangement.
It is believed that disagreements over the phased Israeli withdrawal from the pilot areas prevented the military component from taking place in the sixth round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations in Rome last week. While the political track met on 14 and 15 July, the military session was postponed due to what was officially described as “logistical reasons”.
Among the issues that remain unresolved are the precise boundaries of the pilot areas from which Israel will withdraw, the monitoring mechanism that would verify the completion of Hizbullah’s disarmament in areas where the LAF deploys, and the procedures for inspecting those areas.
Lebanese military officials oppose conducting searches of civilian homes, whereas Israel insists on them, arguing that Hizbullah stores weapons in private residences.
Following the signing of the framework agreement, the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) visited Beirut to meet with the commander of the LAF in order to launch the Lebanon Military Coordination Group.
The purpose of this mission was to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire and the various security arrangements under the framework agreement. However, important details remain unresolved, particularly regarding the first pilot areas from which Israel will withdraw and the mechanisms for coordinating that withdrawal with the deployment of the Lebanese Army.
Israel has proposed Zoutr Al-Gharbiyah, Froun, and Ghandourieh as the initial pilot zones. Lebanon has rejected this proposal, arguing that it makes no sense for Israel to withdraw from areas it had not occupied in the first place. Earlier this week, the LAF deployed forces to these three areas and established checkpoints and fortifications, demonstrating that it would be a farce to stage a pilot withdrawal from them.
Aoun’s meeting with Trump on Tuesday was a major opportunity for him to present Lebanon’s vision for an Israeli withdrawal from the south, the consolidation of the ceasefire, and increased US support for strengthening the LAF and financing reconstruction in the south.
As he headed to that meeting, he could be confident in the support of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Aoun met with Berri before flying to Washington to coordinate positions and unify Lebanon’s demands. Following the meeting, Berri told reporters that he would welcome any solution that serves Lebanon’s interests, regardless of its source.
He also said that he had urged Aoun to press Trump on the need to ensure the ceasefire holds and to secure Israel’s complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Aoun also enjoyed strong support from Saudi Arabia. During his visit to Washington, he received a phone call from Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, who expressed Riyadh’s readiness to provide Lebanon with whatever support it needs during the coming phase in accordance with the priorities set by the Lebanese government.
Aoun is also expected to visit Turkey on his return trip from Washington.
This support by regional allies who maintain close relations with the current administration in Washington helps build momentum behind the Lebanese position.
Nevertheless, it would be premature to feel too confident. There remains a strong likelihood that Israel will, at the very least, evade its commitments and delay its withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to keep Israeli forces on the ground in Lebanon as Israel heads to the polls in the autumn. Worse still, Lebanon fears that the collapse of the US-Iranian memorandum of understanding will spiral into a cycle of hostilities that could induce Israel to launch another large-scale military campaign against Lebanon in the lead-up to the elections.
Even if Aoun succeeds in bringing Trump around to the Lebanese position and convincing him to exert meaningful pressure on Netanyahu, will Netanyahu yield? Given his declining popularity in the opinion polls and his calculus that withdrawing from southern Lebanon would not serve his electoral interests, this is doubtful.
It is worth recalling that Aoun’s visit to Washington was delayed for several months. This was largely because he had rejected an earlier American proposal for a trilateral meeting with Netanyahu and Trump, during which he would have been expected to pose for a joint photograph celebrating “peace” in Lebanon.
Aoun found such an idea unacceptable while Israel continued to occupy much of the south and persisted in near-daily violations of the ceasefire agreement.
Although Aoun ultimately succeeded in arranging a visit to Washington without Netanyahu’s participation, there remained concerns over how Trump would handle his meeting with the Lebanese president. It was felt that Trump could put Aoun in an awkward position in front of reporters by pressing him to offer premature concessions, making inflammatory remarks about Hizbullah that would anger Lebanon’s Shiite community and fuel sectarian tensions, or bringing up his earlier suggestion that Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa should take over the task of disarming Hizbullah.
This is a suggestion that Lebanese officials across the political spectrum have rejected.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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