President Donald Trump said he is directing his administration to allow all US airlines to fly directly to Lebanon as Joseph Aoun visited the White House.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he’s directing his administration to let all US airlines fly directly to Lebanon. He said the change would let Americans “visit this beautiful land.” Trump made the comment while hosting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House.
Haaretz reported the Oval Office meeting was the first White House visit by a Lebanese president since 2009. Trump also spoke warmly about Lebanon while the two leaders sat together.
“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, according to Reuters.
Aoun thanked Trump for what he called a historic achievement in signing a framework. “It’s about time for Lebanon to be stable and secure,” he said, Reuters reported.
Reports on Tuesday didn’t give a start date for the new US airline service. They also didn’t say which carriers might seek routes to Lebanon.
Aoun pressed for US support
Aoun came to Washington seeking political backing from Trump, Axios reported. He also wanted military help for the Lebanese Armed Forces and US pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Aoun wanted Israel to keep pulling troops out of southern Lebanon, according to Axios. On Monday, the State Department said Israel had started withdrawing from several villages there, Axios noted.
The Washington Post, citing AP reporter Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, said Aoun’s trip capped a push for a wider Israeli troop withdrawal. Reuters reported that Israeli troops still occupy a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Earlier Israeli strikes left hundreds of thousands of Lebanese displaced, Reuters said. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has rejected the Lebanese government’s direct talks with Israel and has also fought efforts to strip it of its weapons.
Lebanon’s office laid out the agenda
Before the meeting, Aoun’s office said he would hold “meetings and consultations with a number of American officials,” according to Al-Ain News reporting cited by The Jerusalem Post.
Those talks would cover “the situation in Lebanon and ways to consolidate the ceasefire [and] Israel’s withdrawal from the Lebanese areas it occupies,” Aoun’s office said.
The Jerusalem Post also reported that Lebanon planned to send troops into pilot zones in the south, near Israeli positions.
So the airline announcement landed inside a much bigger security conversation. Trump talked up a warmer US approach to Lebanon, while Aoun kept his focus on withdrawal, stability and support for his army.
Trump also addressed a Red Sea threat
A reporter also asked Trump about a possible Houthi blockade. He said the United States would respond if Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement follows through on threats to block commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
If the group acts, the US “will just have to take care of business,” Trump said, according to Reuters.
The Times of Israel reported separately that Vice President JD Vance’s office denied blocking a private meeting between Netanyahu and Trump, calling the claim “100% fake news.”
Tuesday’s meeting, held at the White House in Washington, brought together two leaders navigating a fragile moment for Lebanon, still marked by displacement, occupation and an armed group unwilling to disarm.
