Aoun and Meloni Discuss Post-UNIFIL Security Force in Rome

President Joseph Aoun met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome to discuss how to secure south Lebanon after UNIFIL's mandate expires December 31, 2026. Italy and France are pushing a NATO-backed European multinational force to replace the UN peacekeeping mission — an alternative opposed by the US and Israel, which favor a US-led arrangement instead. The talks come as Israel has withdrawn from only two of the agreed 'pilot zones' and continues to condition further withdrawal on complete Hezbollah disarmament. Aoun also asked the Vatican to keep pressing Lebanon's case in international forums.