President Donald Trump reversed a decades-old ban Tuesday on U.S. carriers flying to Lebanon after telling the country’s leader in an Oval Office visit that it had been badly treated.
“I am hereby directing my Administration to allow all U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Hopefully, other Countries will do the same. Enjoy!”
Direct U.S. flights to Lebanon have been banned since 1985 after a militant group linked to Hezbollah hijacked a Trans World Airlines flight traveling from Athens to Rome. The hijackers detoured the TWA flight to Beirut, held it for 17 days and murdered U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s visit to Washington marked the first time a Lebanese head of state has visited the White House in nearly two decades.
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During the bilateral meeting in the Oval Office, Trump defended Lebanon and noted that he had a “very good” relationship with Aoun.
“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.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Aoun this past weekend to discuss the “trilateral framework” between the U.S., Lebanon and Israel. Israeli forces still remain in parts of southern Lebanon — though Israel committed to a phased withdrawal of its troops from the region as part of the framework established on June 26.
“The United States remains committed to supporting this effort and Lebanon’s efforts to deliver security, peace and a better future for the Lebanese people,” Rubio wrote on X.
Trump’s move overturns a “Presidential Determination” issued by President Ronald Reagan following the TWA hijacking that barred U.S. carriers from flying directly to Lebanon.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton eased the restrictions and allowed U.S. airlines to sell tickets through non-U.S. carriers to all passengers through interline agreements — though direct U.S. flights to Lebanon remained strictly prohibited.
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