MIKE POMPEO: How Trump can save Lebanon from Iran’s influence

Lebanon stands at a crossroads. After decades of Iranian manipulation and Hezbollah’s stranglehold on the country, President Donald Trump has a historic opportunity to help the Lebanese people reclaim their nation while advancing key American interests. But success requires clarity about what must happen first.

The international community has spent years discussing Lebanon’s problems, including corrupt governance, a collapsed central bank and dysfunctional institutions ranging from the judiciary to law enforcement. These are real challenges that demand attention. However, none of these reforms matter – indeed, none of them are even possible – as long as Hezbollah maintains its private army. 

Lebanon cannot have two militaries. It cannot have one group that answers to Tehran while claiming to serve Beirut. There can be only one legitimate force capable of defending Lebanon: the Lebanese Armed Forces. Lebanon and the world must call out Hezbollah as the terrorist organization it is, and Lebanon must commit to ridding itself of its terrorist scourge. 

This is not merely a policy preference – it is an existential necessity. Every dollar spent on governance reform, every effort to rebuild institutions, every attempt to restore economic stability will fail as long as an Iranian proxy holds veto power through the barrel of a gun. 

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Hezbollah’s weapons are not just a security threat; they are the fundamental obstacle to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

President Trump has accomplished a great deal to advance peace in the region by understanding that America’s enemies respect strength, not wishful thinking. To achieve this in Lebanon, the United States must act quickly. 

First, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s (UNIFIL) failed mission must come to an end. With just a few weeks left of its mandate, now is the time to pull the plug on this United Nations boondoggle. 

A convoy of United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicles drive through southern Lebanon on Dec. 4, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)

For decades, UNIFIL has provided little more than a fig leaf for Hezbollah’s military buildup. Like UNRWA in Gaza, it has become worse than useless – it has become an enabler of the very problems it was meant to solve. Sending American tax dollars to the United Nations for this mission is not just wasteful, it is morally bankrupt. This is low-hanging fruit for immediate action.

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The U.S. must also support the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). The LAF represents Lebanon’s best hope for unified, legitimate governance. We must provide them with everything they need, including intelligence sharing, advanced hardware, comprehensive leadership training and other necessary support. When we empower legitimate institutions instead of trying to work around illegitimate ones, we get results.

Lastly, but arguably most important, we must work with our friends and allies to systematically destroy Iran’s weapons pipeline to Lebanon. Every rocket, every missile, every piece of military equipment that Iran moves into Lebanon must be identified and eliminated. 

Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa shakes hands with President Donald Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman watches. (AP)

We have the intelligence capabilities. We have willing partners in Israel. And we now have leverage over Syria’s new government, which depends on American support for its survival. Use that leverage. Make clear that allowing Iranian weapons transfers through Syrian territory will have consequences.

This is not about nation-building or endless Middle Eastern entanglements. This is about recognizing that some problems have military solutions. Hezbollah’s arsenal was not built through negotiations, and it will not be dismantled through diplomatic niceties.

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The Lebanese people deserve better than living under the shadow of an Iranian militia. They deserve a government that answers to them, not to the ayatollahs in Tehran. They deserve economic opportunity, not the economic stagnation that comes from being a client state of a pariah regime.

And the American people also deserve better. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization with American blood on its hands, having killed hundreds of U.S. service members and civilians over the decades. Its continued strength only emboldens Iran’s broader campaign of terror against American interests worldwide.

Hezbollah members salute and raise the group’s yellow flags during the funeral of their fallen comrades who were killed in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon on April 17, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)

But wanting these outcomes is not enough. Good intentions without decisive action have characterized Western policy toward Lebanon for too long. President Trump has shown he is willing to take the decisive action that previous administrations avoided.

The window for action is closing. Iran is already working to rebuild Hezbollah’s capabilities. Regional powers are positioning themselves for Lebanon’s future. If America does not act now, we will find ourselves watching yet another Middle Eastern country slip further into Iran’s orbit. Just as in the south, now is the time to act in the north. 

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Lebanon’s salvation lies not with the United Nations or yet another international conference. It lies in a simple principle: one country, one legitimate military. That can create an enduring peace. President Trump has the tools and the opportunity to make this happen.

The question is not whether we can fix Lebanon. The question is whether we will choose to do what it takes to have a stable Lebanon and Middle East. 

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