Trump: Aoun to visit Washington in 'one or two weeks'

U.S. President Donald Trump stated Wednesday, from the G7 summit in Evian, that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun would make a visit to Washington "in a week or two." Trump had already mentioned last November the possibility of inviting his Lebanese counterpart to the White House.

The U.S. leader also indicated that the memorandum of understanding with Iran to end the war in the Middle East, which also includes a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, would be signed "soon," maybe Thursday or Friday, and announced that Israel had received a copy of the document.

On "the Lebanese part, that's something we'll need to work on a little," acknowledged Trump, as the Iranians are demanding that Israel stop its strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. "It’s actually a very small piece of the puzzle, but it still makes a lot of noise," Trump also said, estimating that "the real issue is the agreement with Iran."

Because "that’s where the money is, that’s where the power was," he added. He further stated that Washington and Tehran would "very likely" sign this document, and repeated that the United States "will take" Iran's highly enriched uranium even if it is "worthless." The U.S. president also promised a "parallel" discussion with the Gulf countries regarding ballistic missiles.

Trump also praised his "tremendous partnership" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "To be totally fair to Bibi Netanyahu, who happens to be a good man, he gets a little worked up sometimes," he said. "We have a tremendous partnership," he added, describing their disagreement over Lebanon as a "small dispute."

On Tuesday, however, the U.S. president had said that Netanyahu needed to "take a more responsible stance regarding Lebanon," as Israel continues to refuse to withdraw from the territories it occupies in southern Lebanon. He also said he had let Israel know that he "did not appreciate its attack on [the southern suburbs of] Beirut" last Sunday.