Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday to present a plan on how to disarm Hezbollah and secure Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon.
Aoun, who served as the commander of Lebanon's US-backed army before being elected president last year, is the first Lebanese head of state in nearly 20 years to visit the White House, where he will meet Trump face-to-face for the first time.
The meeting comes at a crucial moment for Lebanon: Israeli troops are occupying a swathe of the country's south, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese remain displaced following Israeli strikes and Hezbollah has firmly rejected the government's direct talks with Israel - and efforts by the state to strip it of its arms.
Aoun arrived in Washington at the weekend and met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, telling him that Israel should begin withdrawing from southern Lebanon in line with a US-brokered June 26 agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
That deal aims to disarm Hezbollah, see a progressive Israeli troop withdrawal and set the stage for peaceful ties between the two countries.
A Lebanese official said Aoun believes only Trump possesses the leverage needed to pressure Israel to withdraw its troops and help Lebanon restore its sovereignty. The official said that Aoun, in addition to asking the US president to press Israel to withdraw, would also present Trump with a written proposal on how to decommission Hezbollah's massive arsenal.
SEEKING HEZBOLLAH'S DISARMAMENT
Aoun, 62, became president just before Trump began his second term in the White House. The US welcomed Aoun's election.
At his swearing-in ceremony, Aoun vowed to affirm "the state's right to a monopoly on arms".
His presidency's first year was defined by a government bid to secure the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Lebanese troops deployed in southern Lebanon to collect Hezbollah weapons caches, in line with a ceasefire after the 2024 war and without opposition from a weakened Hezbollah.
A NEW WAR ERUPTS
But early into his term's second year, a new war erupted when Hezbollah fired at Israel on March 2 in support of Iran, which was under US and Israeli attack.
Hezbollah's attack triggered a fierce Israeli air and ground campaign that has killed more than 4,300 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry, including nearly 800 children, women and medics.
The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Hezbollah has not announced a toll for its fighters.
After the war began, Aoun swiftly called for direct talks with Israel, a historic departure for a state repeatedly invaded by Israel since 1978. It led to the highest-level face-to-face contacts in decades between the two countries.
It also made him the focus of fierce criticism by Hezbollah and its supporters.
Aoun has stood firm, criticising Hezbollah for starting the war and saying Lebanon was being destroyed for the sake of Iran.
Still, he has stopped short of agreeing to Trump's call for him to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan face renewed Iranian attacks after US hits Iran's south
Israeli airstrike kills family of six in Gaza, medics say
India youth group says will not march again because police will 'hurt youth'
UK's Burnham targets lower energy bills in first move as PM
Saudi Arabia condemns Houthi threat to impose maritime blockade
