Lebanon's Aoun to meet Trump as army deploys under Hezbollah disarmament deal

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was due to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday as Lebanon's army began deploying in part of southern Lebanon under an agreement with Israel aimed at disarming Hezbollah.

Lebanon is under pressure to show that it can disarm the Iran-backed group. Israel has set Hezbollah's disarmament as a condition for ending its occupation in southern Lebanon, a position backed by Washington.

The Lebanese army said Tuesday that it had started deploying to Zawtar al-Garhbiya, one of three pilot zones under the deal. Israel's military said it would adjust its force posture in one pilot area. The pilot zones are mainly just outside territory Israeli forces entered after the conflict expanded to Lebanon in March.

Aoun, a former army commander elected president in early 2025 with Western support, has pledged to disarm Hezbollah. He has also strongly criticised the group over rocket fire on Israel. Hezbollah has repeatedly refused to give up its weapons and has rejected both the deal and the Israel-Lebanon negotiations behind it.

Aoun is seeking further US pressure on Israel to withdraw from all of southern Lebanon. After meeting Aoun on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Lebanon would not have true peace while the Hezbollah arms issue remained. Rubio also praised what he called the Lebanese government's efforts to reclaim sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its infrastructure.

Aoun is the first Lebanese president to be invited to Washington since 2009. Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, said the meeting showed continued US interest in Lebanon but also raised concern about what more Lebanon might be asked to do. She described the agreement as deeply disadvantageous to Lebanon.

Israeli strikes in the latest conflict have killed more than 4,300 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities. The source says violence has fallen significantly since a framework agreement between the United States and Iran last month and the Lebanon-Israel deal. Under the Lebanon-Israel agreement, the Israeli military is to withdraw from southern Lebanon while the Lebanese army deploys, beginning with the pilot zones, which are intended to show that the army can disarm Hezbollah and keep security control.

Aoun is also expected to ask for more aid for the Lebanese army. Robert Satloff, executive director at the Washington Institute, wrote that Trump would likely want further evidence of Aoun's seriousness about disarming Hezbollah, guarantees that he would remove army officers believed to be complicit with Hezbollah, and eventual progress toward a peace deal with Israel.