Aoun seeks Trump backing for Israel pullback as south Lebanon ‘pilot zones’ begin

Aoun seeks Trump backing for Israel pullback as south Lebanon ‘pilot zones’ begin Submitted by Adam Chamseddine on Tue, 07/21/2026 - 13:34 Beirut touts the Lebanese president’s Washington trip as proof direct talks work, but critics fear the agreement with Israel could draw the army into confrontation with Hezbollah A Lebanese army vehicle drives past first responders near the entrance to the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya as troops deploy to the village on 21 July 2026 (Fadel Itani/AFP) Off Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is in Washington for a high-stakes meeting with US President Donald Trump, as the first “pilot zone” operations under a US-brokered framework agreement with Israel began in southern Lebanon . The visit, which includes meetings with senior US officials, Lebanese diaspora figures and Washington-based think tanks, is being viewed in Beirut as one of the most consequential foreign trips of Aoun’s presidency. It is the first visit by a Lebanese head of state to the White House in nearly two decades, and follows the highest-level Lebanese meetings with a US president since former Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Barack Obama in 2011.