Lebanon's President heads to White House seeking US pressure on Israel

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is set to visit the White House this week for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump, carrying a proposal aimed at disarming the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and securing the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.

The visit marks the first time in nearly two decades that a Lebanese head of state will visit the White House.

It also comes at a crucial time, with Israeli forces still deployed in parts of southern Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict, and political divisions continuing over Hezbollah's future.

Ahead of the meeting, Aoun said he would ask Trump to "exert the necessary pressure on Israel" to implement a US-brokered agreement reached on June 26. The deal seeks to gradually disarm Hezbollah, facilitate an Israeli troop withdrawal and lay the foundation for peaceful relations between the two neighbours.

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Proposal to disarm Hezbollah

According to a Reuters report, Aoun will present Trump with a written roadmap outlining how Hezbollah's vast arsenal could be dismantled.

A Lebanese official, cited by Reuters, said that President Aoun believes Trump has the influence required to to persuade Israel to pull its troops out of southern Lebanon, allowing Beirut to restore full control over its territory.

Aoun, a former army commander, became Lebanon's President last year shortly before Trump began his second term. His election was welcomed by Washington and came after major changes in the region weakened Hezbollah's political and military influence.

Those changes included Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah in 2024 and the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, one of the group's key regional allies.

At his inauguration, Aoun pledged to ensure that the Lebanese state would have a monopoly over weapons, signalling his intention to bring all armed groups under state authority.

War and growing political tensions

During his first year in office, Aoun focused on efforts to disarm Hezbollah. Lebanese troops were deployed in parts of southern Lebanon to seize the group's weapons caches under the terms of the ceasefire that followed the 2024 conflict.

However, early in his second year, fighting resumed after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel on March 2 in support of Iran during the US-Israel conflict.

According to Lebanon's health ministry, the subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 4,300 people, including hundreds of children, women and medical workers. The ministry's figures do not distinguish between civilians and fighters, while Hezbollah has not released casualty figures for its members.

The renewed conflict also pushed Aoun to advocate direct talks with Israel, a major shift in Lebanese policy. His stance drew sharp criticism from Hezbollah and its supporters, but he has continued to argue that Lebanon should not bear the cost of regional conflicts linked to Iran.

From army chief to President

Aoun began his military career during Lebanon's civil war and later led operations against Islamic State militants along the Syrian border.

As army chief, he also guided the military through Lebanon's economic collapse after 2019, when he warned that the financial crisis threatened the survival of the armed groups and openly criticised the country's political leadership.

His election ended a two-year presidential vacuum following the end of former President Michel Aoun's term in 2022. Alongside security reforms, Joseph Aoun has pledged to revive Lebanon's economy and ensure justice for victims of the 2020 Beirut port explosion.