Trump Meets Lebanese President as IDF Begins Pilot Withdrawal in Southern Lebanon

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun in Washington, marking their first meeting in about a decade. This meeting coincided with reports that the Lebanese army had started deploying in the Nabatieh region of southern Lebanon following the Israeli Defense Forces' (IDF) withdrawal as part of a new pilot program. A senior Lebanese security official told Reuters that Lebanese forces were entering areas vacated by the IDF.

According to the U.S. State Department, the pilot withdrawal program is being implemented in three southern Lebanese villages: Farran, Sarafand, and Zotar al-Arabia. This initiative follows last week's Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome and aims to advance a framework agreement signed on June 26. The plan includes the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south, the disarmament of Hezbollah, and a gradual IDF withdrawal from the area.

Lebanese security sources expressed concern, stating that President Aoun had agreed to demands they considered untenable and warned that this could lead to a civil war with Hezbollah. The IDF confirmed the start of the "Safe Zone" pilot in southern Lebanon, conducted in cooperation with the U.S. and Lebanese armies. The IDF emphasized it would respond strongly to any violations of the agreement.

The IDF is reorganizing its forces in one of the pilot areas to facilitate the Lebanese army's mission, which is seen as a sovereignty test for Lebanon’s military as the sole authorized armed force in the region. The pilot will be closely monitored under U.S. supervision, with the ultimate goal of Hezbollah's disarmament in the area.