U.S. President Donald Trump and New York’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, speak to the press during their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on Nov. 21, 2025. (Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, during a press conference, that he may invite his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun, to the White House. This statement comes as the visits to the United States of the commander-in-chief of the Lebanese Army, General Rodolph Haykal, were canceled earlier in the week due to Washington’s “exasperation.” The Lebanese Army is accused by the United States and Israel of stalling in the process of disarming Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah has been a problem. We are working with Lebanon. We are working with everyone in the Middle East. That is another point we have in common. We want to see peace in the Middle East and, in fact, we now have, for the first time in 3,000 years, peace in the Middle East, and we are now going to refine it. I think you are going to see very positive things happen,” Trump said during the press conference.
When asked by a journalist, “Is there a possibility of inviting the Lebanese president to the White House?”, he replied: “I would, absolutely.”
This gesture from Trump comes on the eve of Lebanon’s Independence Day commemoration. Earlier in the evening, Aoun delivered an address to the nation, during which he stated that “Lebanon is ready to fully and effectively engage in the peace process,” proposing to “the entire world” a five-point initiative that includes “final” negotiations on the border with Israel.
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles
