Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has consistently conditioned any direct contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on prior progress toward a security agreement, Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, cessation of strikes, and expanded Lebanese state authority under UN Resolution 1701. U.S. efforts in April and May 2026 to arrange a call or White House meeting, including announcements by President Trump, were rejected by Aoun, who described such steps as premature without a non-aggression framework already in place. Ongoing U.S.-brokered delegation talks in Washington, reactivation of ceasefire monitoring mechanisms, and recent statements from Aoun emphasizing negotiations over escalation continue to shape trader assessments of timelines for leader-level engagement. Domestic Lebanese political pressures and the pace of ground-level de-escalation remain key variables.