Trump says US has "concrete plans" to help Lebanon oust Hezbollah

Washington, DC [India], July 21 (ANI): US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Washington has "concrete plans" in place to assist Lebanon in ousting Hezbollah, while confirming that Israeli forces are currently "re-deploying" from the region.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun during a high-level bilateral meeting, Trump emphasised that the nation has been "badly treated" for too long, promising a shift toward international respect and stability.
"We're going to have it properly treated and treated with respect that it deserves. And, Mr. President, it's an honor having you," Trump said.
Detailing the strategy regarding Hezbollah, President Trump said he and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun would be discussing "concrete plans" for the US to help Lebanon oust the group.
"We'll be speaking about that today with your president, and we have some very concrete plans already in store for that, with others going in and helping. But they're also becoming much more self-sufficient, and we will be speaking about that," Trump said.
Addressing military developments on the ground, the US President noted that Israel is currently "re-deploying" to other areas of southern Lebanon as day two of its planned withdrawal from so-called "pilot zones" in the country continues.
Trump emphasised that the Israeli Defence Forces are "in the process" of withdrawing from Lebanon after the US State Department announced that pilot zone operations began in the villages of Froun, Srifa, and Zawtar Al-Gharbiya in accordance with the Trilateral Framework, as a direct outcome of latest discussions between Israel and Lebanon.
"That was a great agreement they signed with Lebanon," he said, adding they are "redeploying."
In a notable diplomatic statement, Trump also expressed openness to direct talks with Hezbollah if requested by the Lebanese leadership.
"I would speak to Hezbollah. I speak to everybody," he said, adding if Aoun asked him to speak to Hezbollah, he would.
When asked about regional normalisation efforts, the US President praised the scope of the Middle East peace frameworks and signalled that more nations could soon join the Abraham Accords.
"The Abraham Accords have been, I think, a tremendous success. I think you're going to see a lot of countries joining pretty soon. As you know, we have our original group, and it's so successful for them... I think Lebanon has a very important place," Trump remarked.
However, the Lebanon's army has claimed that Israeli forces opened fire "in the vicinity" of the Lebanese soldiers as they deployed in the southern town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya in Nabatieh district.
In a post on X, the army command wrote, "During the implementation by the military units of the deployment operation in the western town of Zrarieh - Nabatieh, Israeli occupation forces opened fire in the vicinity of these units."
The army said that the alleged Israeli actions jeopardise the implementation of the deployment and the agreed framework.
"The army command confirms that this aggression will obstruct the implementation of deployment steps in the experimental areas being conducted within the framework of communications with the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon MCG4L," it added. (ANI)