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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Sunday with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington, with the two officials focusing on the implementation of a trilateral security framework involving the United States, Lebanon, and Israel.
Aoun is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Rubio commended "the courage of the Government of Lebanon, under President Aoun's leadership, for their determined effort to reclaim Lebanon's sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure, and move towards peace."
Rubio also reaffirmed Washington's commitment to "supporting the successful implementation of the Trilateral Framework and to backing the Government of Lebanon's efforts to deliver peace, economic recovery, and a better future for the Lebanese people."
The trilateral framework brings together the United States, Lebanon, and Israel around a shared set of security and political commitments.
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group and political movement, has long maintained an armed presence in Lebanon that successive Lebanese governments and international actors have sought to curtail.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, called for the disarmament of non-state armed groups in Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in the south of the country, though implementation remained incomplete for years.
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Aoun's Washington visit comes at a diplomatically consequential moment for Lebanon, a country still navigating the aftermath of years of political paralysis, economic collapse, and the devastating 2020 Beirut port explosion.
Aoun assumed the Lebanese presidency following a prolonged vacancy in the office, and his administration has signaled a willingness to assert state authority and pursue security sector reforms that previous governments had struggled to advance.
By reaffirming U.S. backing for the framework's implementation, Rubio signaled that Washington views Aoun's government as a credible partner in stabilizing Lebanon.
The Tuesday meeting with Trump is expected to further cement the diplomatic relationship between Washington and Beirut as Lebanon presses ahead with its stated goal of consolidating state control and rebuilding its economy.
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