Lebanese President Joseph Aoun heads into his meeting with US President Donald Trump carrying Beirut’s key demand: that Washington pressure Israel to begin withdrawing from Lebanese territory, as the United States announced the launch of the first “pilot zone” under the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
The US State Department said operations had started in "pilot zones" in Froun, Srifa and Zawtar al-Gharbiya "in accordance with the Trilateral Framework and under the auspices of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon".
It said the move was a direct outcome of last week’s Lebanon-Israel talks in Rome and pledged to continue working with both sides to ensure the framework is successfully implemented.
The Trump-Aoun meeting comes as negotiations enter the implementation phase. The first stage of the framework agreement envisages an Israeli withdrawal from designated pilot areas in exchange for the deployment of the Lebanese Army.
Israel, however, has continued airstrikes, ground incursions and house demolitions, in what Lebanese officials see as an attempt to improve its negotiating position before implementation begins.
The summit is therefore viewed as a test of Washington’s ability to pressure Israel into implementing the agreement, while linking an Israeli withdrawal to Lebanon’s fulfillment of its security commitments.
Former Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Antoine Chedid said Aoun’s visit is of exceptional importance because, from Trump’s perspective, the framework agreement is part of a broader strategy to reduce Iranian influence in Lebanon.
“Trump wants the framework agreement to succeed because he believes it would help move Lebanon out of the Iranian axis and onto a different path led by the United States,” Chedid told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He added that Trump would discuss ways Washington could pressure Israel to facilitate Aoun’s mission and the deployment of the Lebanese Army.
Chedid noted that US pressure on Israel could produce results, but would remain tied to the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons and disarmament.
Any US effort to secure an Israeli withdrawal, or the start of one, would require Lebanese steps to ensure the framework agreement succeeds.
He cautioned that the task would not be easy, saying that Israel no longer views its presence in southern Lebanon solely through the prism of domestic politics, but increasingly as a matter of national security.
“Whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in power or someone else succeeds him, no Israeli government is likely to show flexibility on this issue, even under US pressure,” he added.
Kataeb party MP Adib Abdel Massih likewise said available indications suggest Trump will exert serious pressure on Israel while advancing efforts to address Hezbollah’s weapons.
“The process rests on two inseparable pillars: an Israeli withdrawal and addressing Hezbollah’s weapons,” he underlined. “The guarantees must therefore be reciprocal, because the United States will play a central role on both tracks.”
