The Trump administration has done more than any of its predecessors to restore sovereignty for a much traumatized nation, Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces’ operations in 2024 against Hezbollah decimated that organization, long the “A Team” in global terror.
With Lebanon no longer under the shadow of Iranian and Hezbollah dominance, a pro-sovereignty Lebanese president and prime minister came to office. They want to do what none of their predecessors would do: restore the Lebanese state’s monopoly of arms and control of its borders, regain power from Iran’s proxy, and remove from Tehran the decisions of war and peace in Lebanon.
America followed up in June 2026 with a trilateral framework agreement for a phased, conditions-based approach to disarming Hezbollah and restoring Lebanese control over all its territory, including in the South. Moreover, it placed on the horizon a future of peaceful relations between Lebanon and Israel, ending a cycle of violence that locked these two nations into the conflicts of others — the PLO, Syria and Iran. Despite the ups and downs of conflict and diplomacy elsewhere in the Middle East, representatives of Lebanon, Israel and America have met regularly to fulfill this promise.
While Lebanon offers a bright point of hope, the excellent groundwork laid by the Trump initiative is losing momentum. It is not because of a lack of goodwill, but an absence of persistent, high-level, intense action by all concerned.
During ten days in Beirut and Jerusalem, I heard growing public support for this process. Polling in Lebanon shows that taboos about disarming Hezbollah and peace with Israel are fast eroding. Hezbollah’s standing in its own Shia community has evaporated. Its discredited leaders tried to incite civil war to defeat the June trilateral agreement; no one answered the call. It is a fluid situation, and the Lebanese state — mostly absent from the South for nearly 50 years — should fill the vacuum now.
Despite these promising conditions, implementation has been leisurely. The recent Israeli release of low-security Lebanese prisoners helped, and the Lebanese are making a good faith effort to locate the remains of Israeli soldiers lost in battle in Lebanon. More gestures would help demonstrate the benefits of peace.
The Israeli government has said it ended its military operations in the South and begun to re-deploy some soldiers to Israel. The lesson of Israel’s unilateral withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza a generation ago is the imperative of handing over to a partner. The trilateral framework calls for that, with Israel clearing Hezbollah out of pilot zones and bringing the Lebanese Army in as it pulls out, with an international verification structure assessing the process.
Yet, three months after the agreement, Israel has not handed any more territory to the Lebanese, nor has a verification team arrived. Israel’s enlightened self-interest is to bolster the credibility of the Lebanese Army with the phased withdrawals it agreed to in June. Israel’s election and coalition formation process — with little chance of a government emerging until mid-December — limits options. Nonetheless, diplomatic momentum in preserving Israel’s security gains is essential.
While getting the pilot zone methodology back on track, there is no reason for the Lebanese Army to refrain from regaining the monopoly of arms elsewhere. Hezbollah does not fear the Lebanese Army. Its leaders and their Iranian masters assess that the army is cautious and that they can outwait Israel and America. That must change.
The burden is on Israel and Lebanon, but a stronger American presence on the ground is indispensable, separate from the verification process. A modest number of embedded American soldiers can advise and assist the Lebanese Army at the brigade command level. They will not be in harm’s way, as they will be protected by Lebanese soldiers. It will strengthen the Lebanese Army as it restores sovereignty and allow Americans to assess and advise directly how best the Lebanese Army can act on its own and expunge any residual Hezbollah influence.
American ambassadors in Jerusalem and Beirut have critical roles to play, but trilateral negotiations cannot be handled by them alone. A full-time envoy should be on the doorsteps of leaders in those two countries every week, pushing, prodding, assessing, listening, and overcoming obstacles. That team should also enlist Arab and European support not just for the Lebanese Army, but to help the state repair south Lebanon as an alternative to Iranian funding.
The best thing America can do is keep the pressure on Iran. As the U.S. constrains Iran, Hezbollah is feeling the pain. But it is not just a question of squeezing our adversaries economically. Lebanese will watch closely which way the power balance between America and Iran lands during the remainder of the Trump administration, and adjust their expectations accordingly.
Washington is closer than ever to ending the cycles of violence generated by Iran and its proxies that have destroyed so much of the Middle East. Combined pressure on our adversaries, and support for leaders in Israel and Lebanon seeking to achieve peace, require persistence and active measures. With redoubled effort, Lebanon can be Trump’s first success in a troubled region.
David Hale is a Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow at the Middle East Institute. Hale previously served as U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, and Special Envoy for Middle East Peace.