Lebanon's Aoun heads to Washington for Trump talks on Israel ceasefire and southern Lebanon
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is travelling to Washington to meet United States President Donald Trump and other senior officials, with talks expected to focus on the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the extension of Lebanese state authority. The visit comes as US-led efforts to reduce tensions in the border area move into a new phase. According to the Lebanese presidency, Aoun left for Washington on Saturday at Trump's invitation.
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The White House meeting is expected next week and would be the first visit to Washington by a Lebanese head of state since Michel Sleiman met then-President Barack Obama in 2009. The Lebanese presidency said the discussions will also seek to "restore security and stability" across the country. The agenda reflects the continuing effort to turn the current ceasefire into a more durable arrangement, while also addressing who controls security in the south.
The trip follows another round of US-mediated talks in Rome, where Lebanese and Israeli officials reportedly agreed on next steps for creating pilot zones in southern Lebanon. Under that plan, Israeli troops would begin withdrawing from selected areas while the Lebanese army takes over security. The framework agreement reached in June is intended to gradually end Israel's military presence in southern Lebanon, but it sets no deadline for a full withdrawal.
The agreement is tied to Hezbollah and other armed groups disarming, a condition Hezbollah has rejected. Israeli officials have said their troops will remain in the 10-kilometre security zone along the border for as long as Hezbollah stays armed. Even as negotiations continue, Israeli forces have kept up air strikes, and Lebanese state media reported new attacks on two towns on the edge of the zone in the Tyre and Nabatieh regions on Saturday.
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The latest developments underline how fragile the ceasefire remains and how closely the military and political tracks are linked. Any progress on withdrawals depends not only on talks between Lebanon, Israel and the United States, but also on the question of Hezbollah's weapons and the Lebanese army's ability to extend state authority. That makes Aoun's visit significant beyond the immediate border dispute, because it touches on Lebanon's sovereignty, internal security and relations with Washington.
The Rome talks and the June framework show that the current process is being built in stages rather than through a single final settlement. US officials have described the pilot zones as a first step, but the absence of a deadline leaves the timetable uncertain. What happens next will depend on whether the ceasefire can hold, whether withdrawals begin in practice and whether the parties can narrow their differences over disarmament and security control.
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