Aoun will present Trump with a plan to disarm Hezbollah

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will meet on Tuesday with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, at the White House to present a plan on how to disarm the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and ensure Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.

Aoun is the first Lebanese president to visit the White House in nearly 20 years, where he will meet Trump for the first time.
The meeting comes at a crucial moment for Lebanon, as Israeli forces occupy a large area of ​​the south of the country and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are still displaced in the wake of Israeli strikes, while Hezbollah strongly rejects the government’s direct talks with Israel and the state’s efforts to disarm the group.

Aoun arrived in Washington and met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, and informed him that Israel must begin withdrawing from southern Lebanon in implementation of the June 26 agreement brokered by the United States between Lebanon and Israel.

This agreement aims to disarm Hezbollah, gradually withdraw Israeli forces, and pave the way for peaceful relations between the two countries. Hours before Aoun’s meeting with Trump, Lebanese army forces began controlling territory from which Israeli forces withdrew in southern Lebanon, in the first test of the agreement.

A Lebanese official said that Aoun believes that only Trump has the influence necessary to pressure Israel to withdraw its forces and help Lebanon regain its sovereignty.

The official added that Aoun will present Trump with a written proposal on how to dismantle Hezbollah’s huge arsenal, in addition to asking him to pressure Israel to withdraw.