Trump promised Aoun to rein in Netanyahu, support army
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to President Joseph Aoun in their Washington meeting to restrain Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and prevent him, as much as possible, from escalating tensions, an informed political source said.
Trump also responded positively to Aoun's proposals, particularly regarding providing all forms of support to the Lebanese Army, the source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. During the summit, Trump instructed his Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who was also present, to “send a military mission to Beirut to assess the army's needs as part of developing and strengthening the military cooperation program between the two countries,” the source added, revealing that Trump demonstrated full responsiveness to Aoun's requests.
A member of the Lebanese delegation was quoted as saying: "A positive atmosphere prevailed throughout the meeting, from beginning to end. We almost felt as though they had met before and had a prior acquaintance, because we were surprised by the level of political chemistry between them."
The source confirmed that Trump expressed understanding for Aoun's request to expand the pilot zones to include towns still under occupation.
He said that the commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, will visit Beirut very soon, following a visit by General Joseph Clearfield, who heads the military coordination group for Lebanon. Their joint visit is intended to verify the army's deployment in the two pilot zones and ensure they are free of any armed presence other than Lebanese military units, a clear reference to Hezbollah.
The source believes that Admiral Cooper's presence opens the door to discussing the expansion of the pilot zones. He anticipates that the tripartite political and military meeting of the member states of the Framework Agreement in Rome on August 4 will be a crucial step in finalizing this expansion.
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