Lebanon: Trump envoy warns Lebanese president that Hezbollah cannot be part of next government

Morgan Ortagus, deputy special envoy for Middle East peace in the Trump Administration, met Friday with new Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut, Lebanon.

During a press conference after the meeting, Ortagus thanked Israel for defeating Hezbollah and established "red lines" for Aoun, to whom she said that the Lebanese terrorist group cannot be part of the next government of the Arab country.

The US official's visit comes against the backdrop of a political stalemate in Lebanon.

"Hezbollah will not be able to terrorize the Lebanese people"

"Hezbollah was defeated by Israel. And we are grateful to our ally, Israel, for defeating Hezbollah," Ortagus said.

"The United States of America is committed to the friendship and partnership that we have with this new government," the official added, clarifying that Lebanese authorities are obliged to curb the influence of the Hezbollah terrorist group.

"I’m certainly not afraid of Hezbollah and I’m not afraid of them because they’ve been defeated militarily. And we have set clear red lines from the United States that they won’t be able to terrorize the Lebanese people, and that includes by being a part of the government," Ortagus said.

The deputy special envoy also indicated that Washington is in talks with Jerusalem and Beirut about redeploying Lebanese forces in southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah from attacking Israel again from there.

It should be noted that the Lebanese terrorist group began attacking Israel one day after the October 7 massacre in 2023, forcing nearly 100,000 inhabitants of the Jewish state's north to leave the area. The two sides sealed a ceasefire agreement last November.

Anger on social media due to a ring with the Star of David worn by Ortagus

An image of the meeting shows Ortagus, who converted to Judaism, wearing a ring with a Star of David, which sparked the fury of several Arab internet users on social media.