Jerusalem Post/Middle EastThe visit by Aoun comes as Lebanon is supposed to be sending troops to pilot zones in southern Lebanon near where IDF troops are deployed.Follow us on GoogleU.S.President Donald Trump welcomes Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 21, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN)ByREUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFFJULY 21, 2026 18:14Updated: JULY 21, 2026 18:25US President Donald Trump and Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun met at the White House on Tuesday. This is the first visit by a Lebanese president to the White House in over 17 years.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.Trump said the United States had a “very good” relationship with Lebanon and pledged significant support for the country."It's been a very badly treated place and country, and we're going to have it properly treated, and treated with the respect that it deserves," Trump said.Aoun thanked Trump for what he described as the historic achievement of signing the framework.US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun as he welcomes him to the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 21, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN)“It’s about time for Lebanon to be stable and secure,” Aoun said.Asked about a Houthi blockade, Trump said that the United States would respond if Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement follows through on its threat to impose a blockade on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. If the group takes action, the United States "will just have to take care of business," he said.Aoun’s office said he would meet with Trump and hold “meetings and consultations with a number of American officials to discuss the situation in Lebanon and ways to consolidate the ceasefire [and] Israel’s withdrawal from the Lebanese areas it occupies,” UAE-based news site Al-Ain News reported earlier in the month.This is a developing story.Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report.Follow us on Google