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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon wants to reach a security agreement with Israel after Israeli forces withdraw from the south, adding that the country remains determined to disarm Hezbollah without triggering confrontation.
Speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP) in an exclusive interview on Tuesday ahead of his departure for France, Aoun also called for a new international force to prevent a security vacuum in southern Lebanon after the U.N. peacekeeping mission’s mandate expires at the end of 2026.
He urged the U.S., European Union and Arab countries to support the Lebanese military as it expands its deployment across the south.
Aoun is set to attend a meeting in Paris hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and joined by Jordan’s King Abdullah II to build international support for the Lebanese military.
“What matters is that there is no vacuum,” Aoun said.
He said any replacement force in southern Lebanon, where part of the territory remains occupied by Israel, should be temporary until the Lebanese army can fully deploy.
Aoun said he was open to different options, including a European, American, Asian, U.N. or mixed European-Arab-Asian force.
“The best and most optimal option remains extending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),” he said.
Under U.S. pressure, the U.N. Security Council voted last year to end the mission’s mandate on Dec. 31, 2026.
UNIFIL, which currently includes about 8,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries, has operated in southern Lebanon since 1978.
Aoun said Lebanon wants a security agreement with Israel aimed first at ending the state of hostility and enabling the Lebanese army to deploy along the border.
“This could be a prelude to a later peace agreement, but we cannot jump directly to a peace agreement,” he said.
“We have no choice but negotiations, because the alternative is war, which would be very costly for us.”
Aoun said Lebanon’s Arab and European partners, the U.S. and other friendly countries should share responsibility for supporting the army and strengthening the Lebanese state.
Aoun reiterated that Lebanon is determined to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah, saying the decision is “neither negotiable nor open to discussion.”
He stressed, however, that the government does not want to pursue the process through confrontation.
“The objective is not a confrontation,” Aoun said. “We are determined to resolve this issue peacefully.”
“This is not about building a state at the cost of a bloody conflict or a new civil war,” he added.
Aoun also said he had told Iran that after Hezbollah is disarmed, relations between Lebanon and Tehran should be based on mutual respect and non-interference.
“We have no problem with having a relationship with Iran, but we do have a problem with interference in our internal affairs,” he said.
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