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US President Donald Trump pledged continued support for Lebanon during a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House on Tuesday, saying he would discuss the Lebanese army taking control of pilot zones and was willing to speak with Hezbollah if Aoun requested it.
The meeting marked the first visit by a Lebanese president to the White House in more than 17 years. During the meeting, Aoun thanked Trump for what he described as the “historic achievement” of signing the framework, adding, “It’s about time for Lebanon to be stable and secure.”
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.
Trump also said he would discuss the Lebanese army taking control of villages from which the IDF had withdrawn, adding that he would examine issues related to the pilot zone, after the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) claimed earlier on Tuesday that the IDF opened fire near Lebanese troops deploying to pilot zones in southern Lebanon.
He also said he would speak with Hezbollah if Aoun asked him to.
The meeting comes at a critical time for Lebanon. Israeli troops remain deployed at several positions in southern Lebanon, many residents remain displaced following the Israel-Hezbollah war, and Hezbollah has rejected both the government’s direct talks with Israel and efforts to disarm the group.
A Lebanese official said Aoun believes only Trump possesses the leverage needed to pressure Israel to withdraw its troops and help Lebanon restore its sovereignty. The official said that Aoun, in addition to asking the US president to press Israel to withdraw, would also present Trump with a written proposal on how to decommission Hezbollah’s massive arsenal.
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Trump added that the US will be hitting the Pickaxe Mountain area, located near Iran's heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, "pretty soon."
Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified site that hosts two deeply buried tunnel complexes that experts assess as beyond the reach of the most powerful bunker-buster bombs in the US arsenal.
Pickaxe Mountain is located south of the Natanz nuclear complex, the site of two of Iran’s uranium enrichment plants bombed in June 2025.
Iran transferred thousands of uranium enrichment centrifuges to underground facilities deep inside Natanz’s Pickaxe Mountain last fall, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing Israeli and US officials.
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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.
Seth J. Frantzman and Idan Kweller contributed to this report.
