Rubio says Lebanon must be run by legitimate government, 'not Hezbollah, not Iran'

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press briefing that Lebanon must be run by a legitimate government, "not Hezbollah, not Iran".

"You defeat and replace Hezbollah with a government that is strong enough to be the sole force of arms in the country, basically with the security of Lebanon in the hands of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and a government that’s able to provide prosperity for its citizens."

Rubio met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington on Sunday, and hailed Lebanon's "move towards peace" after the latest round of talks with Israel. He said his meeting with Aoun was "good" and expected "a very positive meeting" between Aoun and Trump on Tuesday. "I think President Aoun will be able to return to Lebanon and say to the people of Lebanon that he is the one that’s getting positive results for the people, all the Lebanese including Christians, Sunni and Shia, and Bedouin and Druze, all people of a very diverse country, not Hezbollah, not Iran."

Rubio commended the courage of the government of Lebanon, under President Aoun’s leadership, "for their determined effort to reclaim Lebanon's sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah... and move towards peace".

He said he discussed with Aoun how to defeat and replace Hezbollah and how to attract more U.S. and international investment into Lebanon.

He told journalists in the press briefing that "the best thing that could happen for Lebanon is to have a legitimate government that controls the country."

"The biggest problem Lebanon has is that you have a political movement that also has an armed militia that is not just well armed and trained and equipped and financed by Iran, but they use that to conduct terrorism... And as long as that problem exists, Lebanon will never fully be at peace."

The Lebanese government is the government that should be in charge of the country, he added.