Israeli pullout, Hezbollah arms to top Aoun-Trump talks
This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency press office on July 19, 2026 shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun being received by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, DC.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on July 21, seeking greater pressure on Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon as Washington pushes Beirut to disarm Hezbollah.
The talks follow the launch of operations in three U.S.-backed “pilot zones” intended to test a phased security arrangement in the south. The U.S. State Department identified the villages as Froun, Srifa and Zawtar al-Gharbiya.
Under the framework agreed by Lebanon, Israel and the United States in June, Israeli forces are to withdraw as the Lebanese army assumes security responsibility and removes weapons and infrastructure belonging to non-state armed groups, a provision widely understood to refer to Hezbollah.
