Ephrem Kossaify

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has pledged substantial American support for Lebanon during a special meeting with his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun.

Trump said the embattled country deserved to be treated with respect after suffering decades of instability and conflict.

“We’re going to help it. We’re going to help it a lot,” Trump said as he welcomed Aoun, with the US president describing Lebanon as a country of “great intellect” that had been “very badly treated” for many years.

Trump said the two leaders would seek to resolve several of the challenges facing Lebanon, including the presence of Hezbollah and the implementation of a recently signed framework agreement with Israel.

“We are going to solve a lot of problems,” he said. “We’ve already solved some of them for Lebanon.”

Aoun thanked Trump and his administration for supporting what he described as a historic framework aimed ultimately at ending the state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel.

“Together, we’ll be able to achieve this objective,” Aoun said. “It’s about time for Lebanon and for the whole region to be stable and secure.”

He said his vision for peace and stability corresponded with Trump’s, adding that cooperation between the two countries could help deliver lasting security for Lebanon and the wider region.

Trump agreed, saying Lebanon’s people had the determination needed to rebuild the country and make the agreement work.

The US president also said Lebanon could have an important place in the future expansion of the Abraham Accords, although he did not provide details on whether Beirut could formally join the normalization framework.

Asked when Israeli forces would fully withdraw from Lebanese territory, Trump said the process was underway.

“They’re in the process of doing that,” he said, adding that Israeli forces were redeploying from other areas as the agreement was implemented.

Trump was also questioned about reports that Israeli forces had opened fire near Lebanese troops attempting to deploy in one of the pilot zones established under the framework.

He said he had only learned of the incident shortly before the meeting and would examine the matter.

Aoun highlighted that the success of the agreement depended heavily on strengthening the Lebanese Armed Forces, which are expected to assume security responsibility in areas vacated by Israeli forces and Hezbollah.

He said he had asked Trump for two forms of assistance: political backing and continued support for the Lebanese military.

“The LAF is the most trusted institution in the country, and it has the most powerful weapon, which is the trust of the public,” Aoun said.

He described the army as the backbone of Lebanon’s security and stability, warning that its collapse would risk a return to the conditions that allowed militias to proliferate during the country’s civil war.

“Without the LAF, everything will collapse,” he said. “All we’re asking is: Keep supporting the LAF.”

Trump said strengthening the Lebanese military would be a central subject of the talks and that Washington already had specific proposals under consideration.

“We have some very concrete plans already in store for that, with others going in and helping,” he said, adding that Lebanon was also becoming more self-sufficient.

The two presidents also addressed the position of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after comments surfaced that he had rejected the framework and warned that it could provoke internal conflict.

Aoun said the agreement did not require parliamentary approval because its implementation fell within the constitutional authority of the presidency.

He also rejected the suggestion that Berri opposed efforts to end the conflict, describing him as a statesman who understood the destruction suffered by southern Lebanon.

“He’s supportive of what we are doing, and he’s supportive of ending the state of hostility, ending the war once and for all,” Aoun said.

Trump said he believed Berri would support the process once he saw tangible progress.

Asked whether he would communicate directly with Hezbollah, Trump said he was prepared to speak to the group if Aoun believed such engagement would help.

“I speak to everybody,” Trump said. “If the president wanted me to speak to Hezbollah, I would.”

The meeting also touched on the possibility of Syrian involvement against Hezbollah. Trump said he maintained a strong relationship with the Syrian president and suggested Damascus could play a role because of its longstanding hostility toward the Lebanese group.

“He would like to come in and do something with Hezbollah,” Trump said. “He’s been fighting Hezbollah for a long time. I think it’d be very effective.”

This, however, would likely become the only plan to be wholly rejected across Lebanon’s political spectrum, given the marred history of Assadist Syria occupying the country for almost 30 years.

Syria withdrew in 2005 following mass protests after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and intense international pressure.

On Iran, Trump claimed Tehran was seeking negotiations after suffering extensive military damage, but that the US would not engage until Iranian leaders were ready for meaningful talks. It comes as the two foes exchanged fire for the 11th day in a row, with the Pentagon announcing that almost 100 US troops had been injured since the reigniting of the war.

“They want desperately to meet (us),” he said.

Trump also warned that the US would strike any Iranian facility used to revive the country’s nuclear program, claiming previous American actions had significantly delayed Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon.

The talks highlighted Washington’s stated commitment to supporting the Lebanese state, strengthening its armed forces and advancing the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces under the new framework.

Aoun said continued US political and military support would be essential to preventing renewed instability and ensuring that the Lebanese Army could fulfill its responsibilities.

Trump praised Lebanon’s recent agreement with Israel as “a big step” and said Aoun could emerge as one of the Middle East’s most important leaders if the process succeeded.