U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States could soon strike a secretive Iranian site known as "Pickaxe Mountain," while also saying he would be willing to speak with Hezbollah if Lebanon's president wanted him to do so, during the first White House visit by a Lebanese president in nearly two decades.
Meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office, Trump said he expected "many countries" to join the Abraham Accords in the near future and pledged continued U.S. support for Lebanon as it seeks to stabilize following years of economic collapse and conflict.
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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office
(Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
"It's been a very badly treated place and country, and we're going to have it properly treated and treated with respect that it deserves," Trump said of Lebanon. "We're going to help Lebanon a lot."
Asked whether he would consider speaking directly with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group, Trump replied: "If [Aoun] wanted me to talk to Hezbollah... I would do it."
The meeting came less than a day after Lebanese troops began deploying into parts of southern Lebanon vacated by Israeli forces under a pilot phase of a U.S.-brokered agreement aimed at expanding Lebanese army control in areas previously held by Hezbollah.
Trump said the United States would closely monitor developments in the pilot zones and discuss the Lebanese army's takeover of villages formerly occupied by Hezbollah.
Aoun, the first Lebanese president to visit the White House since 2009, thanked Trump for what he called a "historic achievement" in reaching the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
Trump and Aoun at the White House
(Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
"The ultimate goal is to end the state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel once and for all," Aoun said. "Mr. President, this will be your legacy. Together we can achieve this objective. It is time for Lebanon and the entire region to be stable and secure. I know your vision is peace. Your vision is stability. I believe my vision aligns with yours."
Trump also reiterated his support for expanding the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states.
"The Abraham Accords have been an incredible success," Trump said. "Very soon you'll see many countries joining. It has been a tremendous economic success for the countries already involved. None of them left, even during this conflict. And I think Lebanon has a very important place."
The president also addressed Iran, saying Tehran was seeking talks with Washington but warning that military action remained on the table.
"Iran desperately wants to meet," Trump said. "Iran hasn't seen anything yet."
הר המכוש פיקאקס איראן ליד נתנז צילום לוויין 21 ביוני
(צילום: Vantor/Handout via REUTERS)
Asked specifically about "Pickaxe Mountain"—a heavily fortified underground site south of Iran's Natanz nuclear complex that Israeli intelligence reportedly believes now houses uranium enrichment centrifuges and possibly uranium stockpiles—Trump suggested military action could be imminent.
"We'll be hitting the Pickaxe Mountain area pretty soon, and very hard," Trump said.
The site has drawn increased scrutiny following reports that Iran transferred thousands of centrifuges there after U.S. and Israeli strikes damaged key nuclear facilities during last year's conflict.
Trump was also asked about the possibility that Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels could attempt to block the Bab al-Mandab Strait following renewed regional tensions.
"If something happens, we'll just have to take care of business," he said. "We dealt with the Houthis before, and since we did what we did, we haven't heard much from them."
The meeting comes at a pivotal moment for Lebanon, whose government is seeking to disarm Hezbollah while also pressing Israel to complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon under the U.S.-brokered agreement. Aoun has made curbing Hezbollah's military role a central objective of his presidency while pursuing unprecedented direct contacts with Israel aimed at eventually ending decades of hostility.