Meeting Trump in DC, Aoun says Lebanon will end hostility with Israel ‘forever’

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with US President Donald Trump in Washington, where Aoun declared Lebanon would "end the state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel forever" and sought support to disarm Hezbollah. Trump expressed openness to speaking with Hezbollah if Aoun requested it, stating, "If the president wanted me to speak to Hezbollah, I would." The meeting occurred as Lebanese troops deployed to a southern Lebanese area recently vacated by Israeli forces, part of a US-backed "pilot zone" plan. This deployment saw an incident where the Lebanese army reported Israeli fire, which the IDF confirmed as "warning shots" after Lebanese soldiers encroached on a buffer zone. Aoun emphasized the need to support the Lebanese Armed Forces, calling them "the backbone of security and stability."