Trump hosts Lebanon's Aoun, says he is open to talks with Hezbollah if asked by Beirut

The meeting marked the first visit by a Lebanese president to the White House in more than 17 years. During the meeting, Aoun thanked Trump for what he described as the “historic achievement” of signing the framework, adding, “It’s about time for Lebanon to be stable and secure.”

Trump said the United States had a “very good” relationship with Lebanon and pledged significant support for the country. “It’s been a very badly treated place and country, and we’re going to have it properly treated, and treated with the respect that it deserves,” Trump said.

He also said he would speak with Hezbollah if Aoun asked him to.

The meeting comes at a critical time for Lebanon. Israeli troops remain deployed at several positions in southern Lebanon, many residents remain displaced following the Israel-Hezbollah war, and Hezbollah has rejected both the government’s direct talks with Israel and efforts to disarm the group.

Aoun told President Trump that a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory was essential to consolidating stability and enabling the state to extend its authority, the Lebanese presidency said.

In their first meeting, the two leaders discussed plans to disarm the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and secure Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. The Lebanese presidency said they also discussed US support for Lebanon's army, reconstruction, economic recovery and American investment.

Aoun's nearly two-hour visit took place as Israeli troops continue to occupy a swath of the country's south and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese remain displaced following Israeli strikes. Hezbollah has rejected the government's direct talks with Israel as well as efforts by the state to disarm it.

The talks highlighted Aoun's delicate balancing act - seeking Trump's help to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon while simultaneously facing pressure from the United States and Israel to disarm Hezbollah, which remains a formidable fighting force despite recent setbacks.

"It's been a very badly treated place and country, and we're going to have it properly treated and treated with respect that it deserves," Trump said as he met Aoun in the White House's Oval Office. "There's a Hezbollah problem."

Aoun, who served as the commander of Lebanon's US-backed army before being elected president last year, was the first Lebanese head of state to visit the White House in nearly 20 years.

In a statement after the talks, the Lebanese presidency said Aoun stressed to Trump the "urgent need for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory," calling it "an essential step to consolidate stability and enable the Lebanese state to extend its full sovereignty exclusively through its own forces."

Trump said in a social media post after the meeting that he was directing his administration to allow all US airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon.

"Hopefully, other Countries will do the same," Trump wrote.

In a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, Aoun said Israel should begin withdrawing from southern Lebanon in line with a US-brokered June 26 agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

That deal aims to disarm Hezbollah, see a progressive Israeli troop withdrawal and set the stage for peaceful ties between the two countries.

But it remains unclear how Aoun can persuade or force Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, to give up its weapons. Once Lebanon's dominant political and military force, the group's influence has waned since Israel's 2024 offensive against it and the fall of its Syrian ally, former President Bashar al-Assad.

Hours ahead of Aoun's meeting with Trump, Lebanese army troops began taking control of territory vacated by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon - the first test of the plan.

A Lebanese official said Aoun believes that only Trump possesses the leverage needed to pressure Israel to withdraw its troops and help Lebanon restore its sovereignty. The United States is Israel's most important ally and principal arms supplier.

The official said that Aoun, in addition to asking the US president to press Israel to withdraw, would also present Trump with a written proposal on how to decommission Hezbollah's massive arsenal.

"This will be your legacy," Aoun told Trump in front of reporters as their meeting got under way.

Trump said he would be willing to speak with Hezbollah's leaders if Aoun thought doing so would be helpful. Trump also suggested that Syria may have a role to play in disarming Hezbollah, although he did not explain how.

On Iran, Trump said Tehran was “desperate” to hold talks, warning that it had “not seen anything yet.”

Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified site that hosts two deeply buried tunnel complexes that experts assess as beyond the reach of the most powerful bunker-buster bombs in the US arsenal.

Pickaxe Mountain is located south of the Natanz nuclear complex, the site of two of Iran’s uranium enrichment plants bombed in June 2025.