The US deputy special envoy for the Middle East on Friday said that Hezbollah’s presence in Lebanon’s new government was a red line, welcoming the end of the Iran-backed group’s “reign of terror.”
“We have set clear red lines in the United States that they (Hezbollah) won’t be able to terrorize the Lebanese people, and that includes by being a part of the government,” Morgan Ortagus said after meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut.
“Hezbollah was defeated by Israel and we are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah,” she said.
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Ortagus was referring to the end of more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war between the two parties, which weakened the group.
She was in Lebanon for her first official visit abroad after being appointed by US President Donald Trump.
Efforts to form a Lebanese government have stalled after a new president and prime-minister designate were named in January, ending two years of leadership vacuum.
“The end of Hezbollah’s reign of terror in Lebanon and around the world has started and it’s over,” said Ortagus.
“The men and women of character of this 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.”
