Why Lebanon’s Pilot Zones Matter at the Trump-Aoun Summit

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s meeting this week with U.S. President Donald Trump offers Washington an important opportunity to press Beirut to implement pilot zones in southern Lebanon designed to remove Hezbollah’s military presence.

On July 20, ahead of the White House summit, the U.S. State Department announced the launch of the first pilot zones in Froun, Ghandouriyeh and Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh. While the first two lie outside Israel’s Yellow Line of occupied territory, Israeli troops remain deployed in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh.

The beginning of this initiative is seen as a milestone in Washington. Now it’s time to make sure the pilot zones work as intended. The June 26 Trilateral Framework calls for the LAF to assume control of pilot zones where Hezbollah’s military infrastructure would be dismantled under a verification mechanism.

Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam began their terms in early 2025 with high expectations that they would make Lebanon secure and stable again. Achieving that goal required disarming Hezbollah. Instead, throughout 2025, Aoun and Salam slow-played their promises to confiscate the Iranian-backed terrorist group’s arms. They insisted the process was underway. In January 2026, the Lebanese army declared it had completed Hezbollah’s disarmament south of the Litani River, a claim Israel rejected.

However, it turned out that Hezbollah had done what it has always done: waited on the sidelines, rearmed itself, and prepared for another round of war with Israel. It does not appear that the Lebanese government collected any of Hezbollah’s weapons in 2025. If it did, it never showed any proof. This has always been the problem with agreements in Lebanon. They look good on paper, but there is rarely any evidence that they are implemented.

With the Lebanese president going to Washington to meet Trump, it is time for the U.S. to push him on his promises, including ensuring that the LAF begins operations in the pilot zones. These zones are a good idea. The concept is for the Lebanese army to demonstrate that it can actually secure a very small, limited area in southern Lebanon. Success in these areas could then be expanded elsewhere. 

All of this looks good on paper, but the concept of “trust but verify” applies here. The LAF has been backed by the U.S. for decades. The Lebanese army has the resources. It can disarm Hezbollah, confront Hezbollah, and secure southern Lebanon. Their failure to do so has harmed the Lebanese people most of all, setting the stage for conflict.

This failure has also harmed Israel, prompting it to establish a new security zone in Lebanon, similar to those it enforced in the 1980s and 1990s. From Israel’s perspective, Hezbollah’s continued presence justifies keeping the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s continued presence, and its weapons, should be unacceptable to governments across the Middle East.

Aoun can move forward with the pilot zones. The U.S. is serious about the initiative, and Lebanon has the backing and resources to make it work. Washington has played a major role in bringing Lebanon and Israel to the negotiating table. President Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other senior officials have invested an unprecedented amount of effort into making Lebanon great again. Aoun and Lebanon have a unique opportunity.

The fact that the initial pilot zones are geographically small presents an excellent opportunity for the Lebanese army to demonstrate that it is up to the task. Success can strengthen its resolve to move on to the next zones, a process that should have happened in 2025. 

Unfortunately, 2025 was largely squandered by the new Lebanese administration, and half of 2026 has already passed. In March 2026, weeks after the LAF said it had disarmed Hezbollah along the border, the group once again opened a military front against Israel following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The renewed conflict plunged Lebanon back into war, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and exposing the failure to disarm Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s government is afraid to confront Hezbollah; it is often afraid even to utter the militia’s name. The country is saddled with politicians who have been in power for decades. Figures such as Nabih Berri, the speaker of Parliament and head of the Amal Movement, and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt have been at the center of power since the 1980s. They have left Lebanon mired in inertia and a status quo that has prevented the country from moving into the 21st century.

The Middle East now has young leaders willing to move their countries forward. Syria’s new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, is one such figure. Another is Iraq’s new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, who recently met with Trump. The U.S. president has shown a willingness to work with Syria and Iraq, putting American power on the line to make things right in these countries. Trump wants to see investment and a new Middle East. 

Lebanon presents an opportunity to change the region. The pilot zones are a key piece of the puzzle. Israel has also been talking about a new Middle East. But for this new regional order to emerge, the old ways must be left behind. A new tide is rising in the region, one of stability and the return of the state. This means the failures of the Lebanese system, its divisions, chaos, weakness, and stability can no longer be accepted. Now is the time to move forward. 

Seth J. Frantzman is Senior Middle East Correspondent for The Jerusalem Post and a contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal and Breaking Defense, focusing on regional security, Israel, and conflict dynamics.