Lebanon is at a crossroads. After decades of Iranian manipulation and the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the land, President Donald Trump has a historical opportunity to help the Lebanese people recover their nation and at the same time promote the most important American interests. But success requires clarity about what needs to be done first.
The international community has discussed the problems of Lebanon for years, including corrupt administration, a collapsed central bank and dysfunctional institutions ranging from the judiciary to law enforcement. These are real challenges that require attention. However, none of these reforms are important – indeed, none of them is even possible – as long as Hezbollah maintains his private army.
Lebanon cannot have two soldiers. It cannot have one group that replies to Tehran while he claims to serve Beirut. There can only be one legitimate force that can defend Lebanon: the Lebanese forces. Lebanon and the world have to call Hezbollah as the terrorist organization it is, and Lebanon must commit to free itself from his terrorist scourge.
Iranians show their support for their supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during an anti-Israeli rally in the center of Tehran on June 20, 2025. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Nurphoto via Getty images)
This is not just a policy preference – it is an existential necessity. Every dollar spent on reforming the board, everything to rebuild institutions, any attempt to restore economic stability will fail as long as an Iranian proxy veto power has the barrel of a gun.
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The weapons of Hezbollah are not just a safety threat; They are the fundamental obstacle for the sovereignty of Lebanon.
President Trump has achieved a lot to promote peace in the region by understanding that the enemies of America are respecting power, not Wishful Thinking. To achieve this in Lebanon, the United States must act quickly.
Firstly, the interim force of the United Nations must end in the failed mission of Lebanon (Unifil). With a few more weeks of his mandate, it is now the time to pull the plug from this Boondoggle of the United Nations.
A convoy of the interim force of the United Nations in vehicles of Lebanon (Unifil) driving through South Libanon on December 4, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
For decades, Unifil has been offering little more than a fig sheet for the military structure of Hezbollah. Just like UNRWA in Gaza, it has become worse than useless – it has become an possibilities of the problems it was meant to solve. Sending American tax dollars to the United Nations for this mission is not only wasting, it is morally bankrupt. This is low -hanging fruit for immediate action.
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The US must also support Lebanese forces (cowardly). The coward represents the best hope of Lebanon for United, Legitimate Board. We must give them everything they need, including sharing information, advanced hardware, extensive leadership training and other necessary support. When we empower legitimate settings instead of trying to work illegally, we get results.
Finally, but demonstrably the most important thing, we have to work with our friends and allies to systematically destroy the weapon pipeline from Iran to Lebanon. Every rocket, every rocket, every piece of military equipment that moves to Iran to Lebanon, must be identified and eliminated.
Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa shakes hands with President Donald Trump in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, Saudi Crown Prins Mohammed bin Salman watches. (AP)
We have the intelligence options. We have willing partners in Israel. And we now have an influence on the new government of Syria, which depends on American support for its survival. Use that leverage. Make it clear that allowing Iranian weapons through Syrian territory will have consequences.
This is not about building nation or endless complications in the Middle East. This is about acknowledging that some problems have military solutions. The arsenal of Hezbollah was not built by negotiations and it will not be dismantled by diplomatic kettles.
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The Lebanese people deserve better than living under the shadow of an Iranian militia. They deserve a government that answers them, not on the Ayatollahs in Tehran. They deserve economic opportunities, not the economic stagnation that comes from a customer state of a paria regime.
And the American people also deserve better. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization with American blood and has killed hundreds of American service members and citizens in recent decades. Its constant power only encourages Iran’s wider campaign from terror against American interests worldwide.
Hezbollah members greet and raise the yellow flags of the group during the funeral of their fallen comrades that were killed in an Israeli strike in South Libanon on April 17, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
But wanting these results is not enough. Good intentions without decisive action have characterized Western policy compared to Lebanon for too long. President Trump has shown that he is willing to take the decisive action that previously avoided.
The window for action closes. Iran is already busy rebuilding Hezbollah. Regional powers position themselves for the future of Lebanon. If America is not acting now, we will find that we will look further into the middle of Iran’s track. Just like in the south, this is the time to act in the north.
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The rescue of Lebanon is not with the United Nations or another international conference. It is in a simple principle: one country, one legitimate army. That can create a permanent peace. President Trump has the tools and the opportunity to make this possible.
The question is not whether we can repair Lebanon. The question is whether we will choose to do what is needed to have a stable Lebanon and the Middle East.
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