Trump vows major US help to Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah calm push

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 21, 2026 22:29 IST

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States would help Lebanon "a lot" as he hosted Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House, where the two discussed ways to secure long-term calm after months of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. The meeting came as Washington backed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel on an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Aoun's visit, the first by a Lebanese president to the White House since 2009, also took place as the US has been increasingly distracted by a fresh escalation involving Iran. Lebanon is seeking the withdrawal of Israeli troops from large parts of the south and support for its army to take full control in areas where Hezbollah had long held sway, while the situation on the ground remains tense.

At the start of their meeting, Trump said Lebanon had been "a very badly treated place and country" and added, "We're going to have it properly treated and treated with the respect it deserves. We're gonna help it a lot," though he did not give details. On the question of Israeli forces leaving Lebanon, he said, "They're in the process of doing that. They're in the process of redeploying," without elaborating. Aoun told Trump, "Your vision is peace," and called it his "legacy". Trump replied jokingly, "I do agree with that," and said Aoun was handsome and "knows how to get to me", adding, "Now he can have anything."

Lebanon and Israel announced a "framework agreement" on June 26 that sets out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw and for Hezbollah to be disarmed. It also outlines steps towards an eventual peace agreement between the two countries, which have never had formal diplomatic ties and have officially remained in a state of war for nearly 80 years since Israel's establishment. Trump said on Tuesday that "there's a Hezbollah problem" and suggested he could personally speak with Hezbollah if Aoun wanted that. He also floated the idea of Syria intervening against Hezbollah, though he did not fully commit to it. Such a move would be unpopular in Lebanon and could embarrass Aoun. The broader diplomacy has also been affected by the war involving Iran, and Trump said on Wednesday he had little interest, for now, in talks with Iran's leader to end that conflict.

On the ground, the US State Department said on Monday that operations had begun in three villages forming part of a "pilot zone", though it gave no details. Two of the villages, Froun and Srifa, are not under Israeli military control and the Lebanese army is already present there, while Israeli forces are in part of Zawtar al-Gharbieh. The Lebanese army said it was preparing for Israel to withdraw from Zawtar al-Gharbieh and had started deploying troops on Tuesday. The Israeli military said it "will adjust its force posture in one of the pilot areas in order to enable the Lebanese Armed Forces to carry out their mission", but did not specify the location. Later, the Lebanese military said Israeli troops fired near the area in Zawtar al-Gharbieh and warned that this could delay deployment. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military rules, said the withdrawal had not yet begun.

Abed Ezzeldine, the mayor of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, said residents were waiting for the Lebanese military to say whether it was safe to check their homes once forces were fully deployed and patrolling the area. "The villages are intertwined, so we don't feel safe because the Israelis are present there, they're on our borders and are not very far from us," he said, adding that Zawtar al-Gharbieh was uninhabitable. "Once the army gives us permission to enter Zawtar al-Gharbieh, we as civilians will go in, but only to check it out and see how things are and then we will leave," he said. "We can't stay because the infrastructure is completely damaged and houses have been levelled. They have bulldozed the roads." The Lebanese military had last week increased its presence in some areas expected to be part of the pilot zone, including the three villages, with troops patrolling and setting up checkpoints.

Before meeting Trump, Aoun held talks on Sunday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Washington would continue to back the Lebanese agreement and support its full implementation. Rubio described the meeting as "very positive" and said Lebanon would "never be fully at peace" as long as the Hezbollah issue remained unresolved. "How do you replace Hezbollah? You defeat and replace them with a government that is strong enough to be the sole force of arms in the country," he said. In Lebanon, sceptics fear a military confrontation with Hezbollah could trigger a civil war. Government officials have also called for investment in the country's damaged infrastructure, and Rubio echoed that point, saying, "This is not just about military stuff. This is about how can we attract more US and international investment into Lebanon."

Israeli officials have meanwhile said they plan to keep forces for the long term in a "security zone" in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has rejected the US-brokered direct talks and instead backed Washington's talks with its key ally Iran to end their war, including ending the war in Lebanon as a condition. Lebanon's government, which took office on a reformist platform in early 2025, has promised to disarm all non-state groups, including Hezbollah, and blames the group for dragging the country into another war with Israel in March after it fired rockets towards northern Israel two days after the US and Israel attacked Iran. Beirut's leadership, however, has condemned Israel's subsequent ground invasion and large aerial campaign, which has killed more than 4,000 people and displaced 1.2 million others.

Aoun's Washington visit ended with US promises of support, continued backing for the June 26 framework and fresh discussion on Israeli withdrawal and Hezbollah's future role, while Lebanon maintained that a lasting solution would require Israel to pull out and stronger international financial support for the cash-strapped Lebanese army.

With PTI Inputs

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