Trump authorizes resumption of direct US flights to Lebanon

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would allow the resumption of direct flights by US airlines to Lebanon, which have been suspended for decades.

"After meeting with the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, who has done a remarkable job working to transform his country, I am hereby directing my administration to allow all US airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

The United States suspended direct flights in 1985 after a TWA airliner was hijacked by Lebanese Islamist militants, with one US Navy diver murdered and dozens of US nationals held hostage for more than two weeks.