Press Briefing: Massad Boulos Speaks to Reporters Outside the White House - July 21, 2026

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you.

How'd the meeting go? Were there any concrete outcomes that you could share out of it?

It went very well. Uh, the, I think there was a, there was a very good chemistry between the two presidents. And, uh, I think most of the topics were covered, uh, during the, the, the press, uh, talk. But, uh, uh, it went very well. It was very productive. Uh, they touched on some very important, uh, points, uh, including support of the LAF, uh, and some other aspects as well including economic cooperation and, and other things.

Do you know --

Dr. Boulos, do you think, um, nice to see you, sir.

Good to see you.

Um, did it, is there anything that, uh, in terms of help again with Israel that President Aoun is going to be able to return to Beirut, uh, to help build his credibility and his chances of success? Uh, I'm also wondering if he was able, if you think he was able to charm the President as successfully as President [Inaudible] was?

Well, I think the President answered that question, and the answer was yes, definitely. He, he said that clearly. Regarding the first, uh, question, uh, there's, there's the framework agreement and this, this is a, indeed a historic agreement by, by all means. And we, we've all seen that it was launched, the implementation has already started, and so far things are progressing in the right direction.

And the President was pleased, uh, was pleased with that. So it's all about implementing this agreement, which is historic, uh, which is the first time, actually, the two, the two countries have actually signed, uh, an agreement since 1940 -- 49, the armistice agreement, which was signed, actually, by military personnel.

This one was signed by diplomats. It's an excellent start. It's moving in the right direction.

Sir, what is --

Mr. Boulos, can you talk about --

Sir, what is the likelihood that Hezbollah and Lebanon will discharge?

Mr. Boulos, can you talk to us about redeployment? Excuse me. Can I, can I ask a question first?

What is the likelihood that --

Excuse me.

[Inaudible]

Excuse me. Thank you. Can you talk to us about the co, the concept of redeployment rather than withdrawal of Israeli forces from, uh, Southern Lebanon? What does that actually mean? And is it acceptable, actually? Do you think it will be acceptable for the Lebanese side to accept redeployment rather than full withdrawal, uh, from Lebanese territory?

Of course, this is gradual and it's all covered by the, by the agreement, and there is a very good and excellent coordination, actually, happening as we speak between CENTCOM and the Lebanese Armed Forces and the IDF. Uh, things are moving, uh, in the right direction. Uh, we're, we're going to see this gradual implementation.

So, obviously, because this is, there's a, the, it's going to take time. It's not something that, that's going to happen, uh, overnight. There is a verification mechanism as well. So this is what's meant by that. But it's all in the agreement. It's in the, in the framework.

Dr. Boulos --

Yes. Sorry.

Thank you. What is the likelihood that Hezbollah in Lebanon will disarm?

Yeah. Again, uh, I refer you back to the agreement. It's all about that. There are two aspects. There's the disarmament and then there's the withdrawal. And they go hand in hand, step by step, uh, in, in sequence. Uh, and this is why, uh, we're talking about this concept, uh, of, uh, of those zones, uh, those pilot zones.

And I think so far, it's only been 24 hours or so, maybe less than 48 hours, but so far things are progressing. You've all seen the Lebanese Armed Forces already go into three, uh, zones or three villages. But this concept of pilot zones, I think it's a brilliant, uh, it's a brilliant concept, uh, that was done again under the leadership of President Trump and, and, uh, Secretary Rubio.

Uh, this, this is a historic, by all means, this is historic, this framework agreement. It's all about the implementation, but now we're hands on. CENTCOM is directly involved and directly coordinating with the LAF and the IDF.

Mr. Boulos?

Yes.

-- Saudi Arabia. Um, the role of Syria is still confusing for a lot, uh, of people, especially that President Trump mentioned that today. Would you clarify what does he have in mind in, in regards of Syria and President Ahmed al-Sharaa with Hezbollah and Lebanon?

I think the President spoke clearly about that. The, I don't have anything to add, but he did, uh, speak about that very, very clearly. It's- it's just one though. It's an idea. And, uh, at the end of the day, the President will, will decide. But, uh, he spoke very clearly on that point.

Dr. Boulos, what guarantee can the U.S. give, uh, to the Lebanese government to make sure that Israel withdraw totally from the South? We're talking about pilot pro, projects now, but there is fear that Israel will stay in South Lebanon. Is this any follow up to --

L- -- just like --

-- make sure they will withdraw?

Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's a good, that's a fair question. I mean, the, just like any agreement, just like, uh, any plan, there will always be some obstacles. There will always be some difficulties. There will be some delays. But our job is to make sure we overcome those. And I think President Aoun highly committed and the Lebanese government, President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and the LAF have, have been doing a great job so far.

And they're coordinating very closely with us and, uh, with the IDF. So it's all about implementation. There are going to be some obstacles, definitely, but we are committed. President Trump is definitely committed and he expressed it very clearly. He's been expressing this for the last two years, as, as you know.

You interviewed him during the campaign.

Sure.

And he made, just like your question, Anthony --

Yeah.

-- a, as well, he made it very clear that he wants peace in Lebanon. He wants peace in the region. And, uh, and he's delivering on those, uh, promises.

[Inaudible]

Christians in Lebanon are very concerned about their future. We've seen religious sites destroyed. What is your message to Christians in Lebanon?

Yeah, well, Christians in Lebanon are not really a minority, and we, we did talk about that today. C- -- Christians in Lebanon play a huge role. It's not about the numbers, it's, uh, it's about the, the role, it's about the message just like Pope, uh, John Paul II expressed, uh, some years ago. Uh, so they have a huge role to play.

The president, uh, the Lebanese president himself is Christian, he's the only Christian in the entire region, from, uh, from Asia all the way to, to the, uh, to Morocco. Uh, the only, uh, president that is, uh, Christian, the, the only head of state. And, uh, so the, the role of Christians in Lebanon is way beyond, uh, way beyond the numbers and way be, beyond some of these, uh, incidents that, uh, that we've seen here, here and there.

It's a historic role, the Christian community in Lebanon are the founders of Lebanon, along with their, uh, Muslim partners and their role has not diminished in, in any way.

Dr. Boulos.

Dr. Boulo --

Yeah.

What leverage does the US government have over Hezbollah? Is there any leverage that they have over them at this point?

Of course, there are always options and there are always, uh, tools that the president has at his disposal and, and Secretary Rubio, uh, can deploy a, at any time they deem necessary. There are always, uh, tools for that. But right now, we're just seeing this, uh, this mechanism or this framework being, uh, it was just launched yesterday or, or the day before and it's, it's being implemented.

It's all about implementation. It's gonna take time. Uh, this is not easy, nobody, uh, believes for a second that this is gonna be an easy task in any way. It will take time. But, uh, we're determined, President Trump is absolutely determined to see this, uh, through. He's, he's the president of peace, as we all know, and he's determined to make sure there's peace in the region, peace in the Middle East.

When you mentioned --

Dr. Boulos.

Dr. Boulos.

-- when you mentioned --

[Inaudible]

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Oh, there are many, many tools.

Yeah.

Many tools. You've seen already some of them recently, by Treasury Department, by other departments. I mean, uh, the president and the Secretary of State, they always have, uh, tools at their disposal that they may choose to, to, uh, trigger at any time.

Dr. Boulos --

Dr. Boulos is the timetable complicated by the fact that the Israelis have their elections in October?

I mean, there's no direct link, the agreement is an agreement and is going to be implemented, uh, step by step. Uh, it's not a question of, uh, specific dates that are cast in stone or a specific timeline. It's going to be implemented step by step. There's a verification mechanism. Uh, it has to be, uh, I mean, we have to give it a chance.

It has to be, it has to work and it's going to work. We, the, the president is fully determined to make sure it works.

Dr Boulos, you've seen --

Dr Boulos.

Yes.

What guarantees, uh, uh, did you give the Lebanese that they won't be used as a bargaining chip again, because they have been used as a bargaining chip [Inaudible]?

Well, President, uh, Joseph Aoun made it very clear that he represents the legitimate, uh, he's the legitimate representative of Lebanon and the Lebanese. Uh, so is his government as well, headed by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and nobody speaks for Lebanon or the Lebanese other than the President and the Prime Minister of, of Lebanon.

He made that very clear and we respect that. We respect the sovereignty, uh, of Lebanon. And we respect the will of the Lebanese people. I mean, these are the legitimately, uh, elected representatives of, of the Lebanese people. So we --

Are you all aligned --

-- we respect that and --

-- are you all aligned on this perspective?

Of course, of course. I mean, there are always, uh, factors to be considered, considered when there's a regional, uh, conflict going on. But, uh, we, we absolutely respect the sovereignty, uh, of, of Lebanon. We respect the, uh, will of the Lebanese, uh, people. And these are the legitimate representatives of Lebanon.

And, uh, I think, uh, President Trump expressed it very clearly today.

Dr. Boulos, [Inaudible] --

Why is it that the President won't commit to a timeline then? At least verbally, yet knowing what he knows about the credibility that that might offer President Aoun in this difficult channel?

It's not, it's, it's not about timelines. Again, the, the framework is, uh, is really excellent. It's excellent. And this is, again, the first time. Just think of it for a moment. This is the first time since 1949 that the two countries actually signed something. Uh, there was an attempt in 1983, we all know what happened, uh, to that.

But this one h- -- has already been launched officially now and is being implemented. So let's give it a chance. It's not about, it's very, very hard to talk of specific dates and timelines, because this is a process and it's a, there, there's a sequence, so it's a step by step pro-, uh, process. And the most important aspect of this is the verification element.

And this is what we have now, which we didn't have in the November '24, uh, arrangements that were put in place, which was not, as you know, was not signed by both countries. This is actually an agreement that was signed by the two countries. And it goes, uh, beyond the, the issue of withdrawal and the disarmament.

It's, it goes beyond that. I mean, if you look at the agreement itself, uh, and I think President Aoun expressed it, uh, today. Uh, a very, very important element in that agreement is recognition. The two countries have recognized, uh, each other and, uh, and committed to the, uh, sovereignty and inte-, uh, and territorial integrity, uh, of their respective countries.

So this is very, very significant.

Is it a good idea --

[Inaudible]

-- or a bad idea, sorry, for Syria to go back into Lebanon?

No, I think, uh, President Trump, uh, spoke about that earlier. I have nothing to add.

What do you think?

No, I have nothing to add to what the president said.

But, uh, Mr. Boulos.

Yeah.

Do you think the administration succeeded in separating Iran from the Lebanon file? Now you have the president of Lebanon coming here because initially in the MOU, they were linking Lebanon as a number one in the, uh, Memorandum of Understanding.

Uh, it's a regional war and I think the, President Trump has expressed, uh, clearly --

Mm.

-- uh, this, uh, this point. I have nothing to add to what the president said, but it's a regional war.

Mm.

At the end of the day, we know that Hezbollah is a proxy, uh, to Iran and, uh, this proxy has held Lebanon hostage for decades now. So it's time, uh, the Lebanese government, uh, and the Lebanese armed forces get rid of this proxy.

Putin's super bad -- Mr. Boulos, President Trump expressed, um, his commitment to, uh, uh, provide all the necessary help to the Lebanese government or the army.

Yeah.

Is there any specific needs that President Aoun mentioned in this meeting that they need so they can implement their part of the deal?

Yeah, this is a very good point. Uh, I think President, uh, Aoun has, uh, clearly expressed, uh, the needs of the Lebanese armed forces and I think they've been talking about that also to members of Congress and, uh, to members of the, uh, executive branch, both at the, uh, Department of War and, uh, State Department and today with, uh, with President Trump.

Uh, and, uh, President Trump is definitely interested in supporting the LAF. Uh, he is determined to supporting the LAF without this, uh, without such support, of course, it, it will be extremely difficult to, uh, implement the agreement, the framework agreement. Uh, so the president is determined to support, uh, the LAF, uh, and it's moving in that direction.

$150 million? Do you think the congress --

No.

-- will authorize it?

Um, this is up to Congress, but, uh, we didn't discuss numbers.

Does Hezbollah have any role in this peace process at all --

When --

-- moving forward?

It's not a question of role, but it's all about this armament. So this, uh, there are two factors in this. One is the withdrawal, the other one is the, this armament. This armament is not only serving Israel, but it's also serving Lebanon and the sovereignty of Lebanon and the Lebanese people. Like I said earlier, unfortunately, this proxy, uh, has been hijacking, uh, Lebanon and the Lebanese institutions and the Lebanese government and, and the Lebanese, uh, for decades and it's, it's time for them to, to go --

Well, [Inaudible], is Dr. Geagea involved in this and his forces? Will he be included in some of this? Um, and as far as --

He has no forces. Which forces are you referring to?

Your, well, the Lebanese forces. That was --

His, his party is, uh, his party is the Lebanese forces.

Yeah.

But it's not like armed forces.

Well, they have, have previous support though from him.

They have not. Uh, of course. I mean --

Yeah.

-- they, uh, uh, what kind of support are you referring to?

I mean as far as --

He, he supports this initiative.

-- yeah, as far as like some of the people getting, you know, some involvement in, uh, y- -- you know, uh, combating, uh --

No, no, no, no, no. He supports the initiative.

Yeah.

He supports the framework.

Yeah.

I mean, as you've seen in Lebanon, uh, you know, uh, a lot of, uh, parties and, and blocks within the parliament have come out very clearly --

Yeah.

-- in support of this framework. And he's definitely one of them.

Yes.

Uh, he's probably the leading supporter --

Yes.

-- of this framework. Abs, absolutely. But, uh, he doesn't run any armed --

Yes.

-- group of course.

Mr. Boulos --

This was, uh --

Yes.

-- this was 30 years ago --

Yes, yes.

-- 35 years ago. So --

Mr. Boulos, if the Houthis close Bab al-Mandeb, will the US use the Navy or Special Forces to reopen that?

I think the president, uh, has talked about that and he will, uh, will --

Did that come up more in the meeting today?

Uh, no, it did, did not.

It did not? Okay.

Thank you.

Dr. Boulos, is there, uh, is, is there a lack of trust on both sides as we see from the reporters of, uh, Israeli forces firing at the Lebanese army as they tried to move in, uh, in the last several --

No.

-- hours?

Those were some warning shots. Let's not, uh, take it out of, uh, proper --

Shots? Warning, yeah.

There were some warning, uh, shots. Uh, let, I mean, there are, there are some, uh, there have been some statements issued. Let's look at those statements --

Who is presiding --

-- be, before we rush to judgment.

-- who is presiding over the verification process?

It's a joint verification mechanism.

Yeah. But I mean that you asked the employees --

And the, CENTCOM is playing a central law, role and they're coordinating, obviously.

Dr. Boulos, Dr. Boulos. [Inaudible] Did, did, did both, uh, presidents, uh, speak about their concern about avoiding any civil war when you put the Lebanese army in Hezbollah, uh, territory in Southern Lebanon? Did, did they speak about this? They have concern about this?

Well, I mean, obviously in Lebanon, this has been expressed. Uh, I'm not going to share with you what we discussed [Laughs], uh, privately, but this was obviously expressed, uh, in Lebanon.

So they have concerns that, that might --

The Lebanese have, have concerns. I mean, we've, we've heard those concerns, but I'm not going to share with you.

Absolutely, but do they have the tools to avoid such a thing in the future, especially when you put the Lebanese army in front of Hezbollah and the, they have all the weapons as well?

Well, this is, again, this is all gonna be in the hands of the Lebanese government and its institutions. So, uh, primarily the LAF, but also you have the ISF and you have other state institutions. It's all about the Lebanese government and the Lebanese institutions. Is it easy? Definitely, it's not. It's going to take time and we're going to, President Trump has committed to, uh, support the LAF, uh, and continue supporting the LAF so that they can be implemented.

Sir --

I have a question for you regarding Africa.

Sure.

As the senior advisor, um, the House recently passed on the, a law regarding Nigerian, um, persecution of Christians. What is your reaction? You live in Nigeria formerly.

Who passed that?

Um, the U.S. House has recently passed a bill out, that the administration should --

It's a proposed --

It, yeah.

-- proposed legislation maybe. It's a proposed legislation. I think President Trump has been clearly expressing his, uh, view on this and we've done extremely well, meaning the United, the cooperation between the United States and Nigeria. We've done extremely well on fighting ISIS and fighting other terrorist organizations, uh, Boko Haram and, and several others.

We've had, uh, huge success, as you have seen, uh, recently and, uh, our, uh, task force, joint task force is working, uh, together very well and there's a, there's ongoing coordination. Uh, AFRICOM has, has done a great job and, uh, President Trump has been championing those religious free, freedom causes, including persecuted Christians across, uh, the world, uh, including, uh, Nigeria and, and many other, uh, parts of, of the world.

Uh, and, uh, he couldn't have expressed it any, any better. Uh, so we would, we, we shall continue to provide support, uh, to the Nigerian institution in fighting terrorism, uh, and fighting these, uh, terrorist organizations.

Okay. My other --

Sir, --

What are the chances of a trilateral meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and [Inaudible] here at the White House?

This was not brought up.

Sir, Pope Leo visited Lebanon, as you know, last, late last year in December. What role do you believe the Vatican can play in bringing peace to Lebanon?

Of course, the Vatican has a, has, has a huge role to play in Lebanon, has always played a very, very important, uh, role in Lebanon. Not just spiritual, uh, and not just moral, but, uh, it really goes be, beyond that. Uh, let's not forget, I mean, Lebanon is probably now, today, the only Middle Eastern country with, with a relatively large, uh, Christian, uh, population and predominantly, uh, Catholic, uh, Maronite Catholics.

So the, uh, the Pope and the Catholic Church, uh, is, uh, I mean, has a significant role to play all the time, all the time. Uh, and, uh, the, again, the role of the Lebanese, uh, Christians, and especially the Lebanese Catholics or Maronite Catholics is, is significant, it, uh, it's not going away, uh, and it, uh, hopefully it will never go away, unlike what happened in some other, uh, countries in the region.

Mr. Ambassador --

What does this disarmament process look like? Uh, are we talking fighting between Lebanese and Hezbollah? And if they are disarmed, where do they go? Do they just simply return to society?

That's the whole concept of these small, relatively small pilot zones, is to do it step by step, to do it gradually in a very methodical, uh, way. So let's, uh, let's, uh --

Ambassador Boulos --

Have you seen any evidence of disarming so far?

Ambassador, what is the third party that, that has --

I'm not an ambassador.

-- the verification mechanism? The verification mechanism, which country or third party that's gonna head that?

No, right now, like I, like I said earlier, CENTCOM is coordinating with the LAF and the IDF, and they're doing, they're doing a great job. Thank you. Thank you, all.

[Inaudible]

You come this way. Thank you, guys.

Thank you.