Trump gives boost to Lebanese relations; puts squeeze on Iran in the process

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

The U.S. is making strides in diminishing Iran’s footprint in the Middle East, putting the squeeze on the Islamic Republic as the president of Lebanon visited the White House Tuesday.

President Donald Trump hosted Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, marking the first time in nearly 20 years that a Lebanese head of state visited the U.S.

Iran and its terror proxy, Hezbollah, took center stage during the bilateral meeting in the Oval Office after the U.S. brokered a deal between Israel and Lebanon to erase Hezbollah from Lebanon.

Trump noted Hezbollah’s presence in Lebanon, claiming that U.S. and Lebanese officials are working to “solve a lot of the problems.”

“We’ve already solved some of them for Lebanon. As you know there’s a Hezbollah problem, but we’ve done some things that I think the world will take notice,” said Trump during the bilateral.

Tuesday marked the first day Israel began to pull some of its forces out of a “pilot zone” inside Lebanon, while handing over the responsibility to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to take on Hezbollah within its own country.

While Israel and Lebanon have yet to normalize relations, they appear to be closer than ever, with both countries focused on removing Iran’s chokehold on Lebanon via its terror proxy, Hezbollah.

One of the sticking points for a deal for the Islamic Republic has been Israel’s defensive actions against Hezbollah, which has taken up camp in southern Lebanon since Israeli forces withdrew from the region in 2000.

One of the questions for Trump during the meeting was the level of support the U.S. is willing to provide Lebanon to fight Hezbollah, to which the president said the U.S. would “help it a lot.”

“We have some very concrete plans already in store for that, with others going in and helping. But they’re also becoming much more self-sufficient, and we will be speaking about that,” the president added.

An unanswered question during the meeting was the normalization of relations between Lebanon and Israel; however, the president expressed hope that Lebanon would join the Abraham Accords.

“The Abraham Accords have been, I think, a tremendous success. I think you’re going to see a lot of countries joining pretty soon. As you know, we have our original group, and it’s so successful for them…I think Lebanon has a very important place,” the president told reporters.

After the meeting, Trump announced the U.S. would be resuming direct flights with Lebanon, directing all “U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon,” citing Aoun’s leadership, saying he “has done a remarkable job working to transform his country.”

The flights will mark the first time since the height of the Lebanese civil war in 1985 that direct flights between the U.S. and Lebanon will operate.