US envoy says 'Hezbollah was defeated by Israel,' must be excluded from Lebanese government

U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, demanded on Friday that the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah be excluded from the new Lebanese government. 

“We have set clear red lines in the United States that [Hezbollah] won’t be able to terrorize the Lebanese people, and that includes by being a part of the government,” Ortagus stated after a meeting with Lebanon's new president, Joseph Aoun, in the presidential palace outside Beirut.

The U.S. envoy also declared “the end of Hezbollah’s reign of terror in Lebanon and around the world.” 

With Iran’s massive backing, Hezbollah emerged as a leading military and political power in Lebanon’s diverse society. Ortagus also addressed the Israeli military’s severe degradation of Hezbollah’s military capabilities after the terror militia launched an unprovoked attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 8, 2023. 

“Hezbollah was defeated by Israel and we are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah,” the U.S. envoy stated. 

By September 2024, Israel had eliminated most top Hezbollah commanders including its top leader Hassan Nasrallah in the terror militia’s subterranean headquarters in southern Beirut. In October, then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant estimated that the Israeli military had destroyed some 80% of Hezbollah’s vast rocket arsenal. 

Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal was considered its most important military asset as it constituted a strategic threat to the Jewish state’s national security. Before the war, Hezbollah was considered one of the world’s most powerful non-state actors, and its military capabilities eclipsed those of many conventional military forces worldwide. 

Aoun, who is a Maronite Christian and a former commander of the Lebanese military, was elected as Lebanon’s new president in January. 

Aoun advocates for stronger ties with the West and is not an ally of Hezbollah. However, following the meeting with Ortagus, Aoun appeared to distance himself from Washington’s position on Hezbollah by arguing that some of the comments she made represent “her own point of view and is not the concern of the presidency.”

While Hezbollah is seriously weakened, it, nevertheless, remains a powerful and influential player in Lebanon’s fractured society. 

The U.S. envoy also said she hopes the new Lebanese government “will ensure that we start to end corruption, that we end influence from Hezbollah, and that we embark on the reforms for a greater country.” 

Lebanon, which was once thriving and known as the “Switzerland of the Middle East,” has faced a severe economic crisis in recent years due to rampant corruption and mismanagement. Furthermore, many Lebanese have accused Hezbollah of prioritizing the interests of Iran over the Lebanese people.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam vowed that he would not permit “anyone inside [the government] to obstruct its work in any way whatsoever.” Salam has sought to curb Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon by refusing to approve any Shiite ministers, despite demands from Hezbollah ally and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Salam has emphasized the need to “rebuild a state” and implement reforms in Lebanon and has called for Israel to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and facilitate the deployment of the Lebanese Arned Forces in the area. 

Following the meeting with Ortagus, the Lebanese president claimed that “consultations to form a new government are nearly completed.”

“The Lebanese army is ready to deploy in villages and towns from which Israeli forces withdraw,” Aoun stated. 

Israel has emphasized that it does not have any territorial claims in Lebanon. However, Jerusalem has vowed to remain in southern Lebanon until the threat from Hezbollah is defused and the Lebanese military assumes effective control of the area. 

Meanwhile, after Hezbollah commander Abbas Haider and his family were killed in a recent explosion, IDF’s Arabic-language Spokesman Lt.-Col. Avichay Adraee warned on 𝕏: “I remind the Lebanese people that Hezbollah weaponry is a double-edged sword and risks, first and foremost, the Lebanese population and even the Hezbollah environment itself. Stay away from Hezbollah weapons!”