Lebanese President urges US to ‘keep standing’ by country

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Saturday urged the United States to stand by his country after a recent US-backed framework deal with Israel aiming to permanently end hostilities after the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

The deal reached in Washington calls for the disarmament of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there, starting with two “pilot” areas.

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Hezbollah has rejected the deal, which does not set a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal.

In a congratulatory message to President Donald Trump marking the United States’ 250th anniversary of independence, Aoun urged Washington to “keep always standing beside Lebanon’s right and just causes, its institutions, army and people.”