President Donald Trump pledged to help Lebanon “a lot” during a White House meeting on Tuesday with the country’s leader, Joseph Aoun, who came to push for long-term calm after months of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
The U.S. has championed peace in Lebanon but also has been increasingly distracted by a new round of escalation with the war in Iran, which has destabilized much of the Middle East. Trump says he now has little interest in talks with Iran’s leader to end the war — at least for now.
In the meantime, Lebanon and Israel have held rare direct talks mediated by Washington. Aoun’s White House visit was the first by a Lebanese president since 2009.
“It’s been a very badly treated place and country and we’re going to have it properly treated and treated with the respect it deserves,” Trump told Aoun during a meeting which wrapped up the Lebanese leader’s four-day visit to Washington. “We’re gonna help it a lot,” he said, without giving concrete details.
Hours after the meeting, Trump made the surprise announcement that he’d allow American carriers to resume direct flights to Lebanon for the first time in 40-plus years after the US suspended the route.
