Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told Newsmax Tuesday that President Donald Trump's willingness to meet with the head of Hezbollah reflects a peace-through-strength strategy, calling the potential talks a "high risk, high reward" opportunity to advance stability in the Middle East.

Appearing on Newsmax's "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," Meadows said Trump's Tuesday meeting with Lebanon's president was historic and could open the door to diplomatic progress in a region long dominated by terror groups and proxy conflicts.

"Listen, what he did today, obviously, was historical," Meadows said, referring to Trump. "Your lead into this was perfect in terms of what has not happened in almost 20 years, meeting with the Lebanese president."

He argued that any serious effort to stabilize Lebanon must account for Hezbollah's influence.

"Hezbollah is a key part of anything that you do in Lebanon because, as you know, it's been largely Hezbollah and Hamas that have had the ruling factions in Lebanon and in the Gaza area," Meadows said.

The former Trump official added that while many Americans see Lebanon as a distant conflict, its proximity to Israel makes it impossible to ignore.

"We think of it as this faraway country," he said.

"But you can look from Israel, and you can see Lebanon from the Golan Heights. I mean, it is literally right there."

Despite Hezbollah's history as a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Meadows said Trump has shown he is willing to engage America's adversaries if there is a chance to secure peace.

"So I'm all for the president doing it. It's high risk, high reward," he said.

"But this president has shown that he's willing to go anywhere for any possibility of peace. And I think Hezbollah should hear from him that you got to get your act straight, or, if not, there will be consequences."

Meadows said the president's willingness to negotiate is backed by credible military strength rather than mere symbolism.

"I applaud the president taking this move," he said.

"It's not just photo ops. It's about making real change."

Leaders throughout the region "respect one thing," Meadows said, and that is "power."

"This president has power, willing to use it, although reluctantly, and I'm hopeful that we'll start to see a more peaceful setting in the Middle East," he said.

Turning to Iran, Meadows acknowledged that Americans are increasingly divided on the ongoing war, but stressed the need to stay the course to thwart Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

"Most of us want it to end and wanted it to end yesterday, but that's what the Iranians are banking on," he said.

"We've got the best military on the face of the globe. But make no mistake, this is about Iran always wanting a nuclear weapon, not anything for peaceful purposes," Meadows continued.

"And while Israel may be in their sights today, the United States is the big bull's-eye that they're going after," Meadows added.

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