The United States has set a "red line" that armed group Hezbollah should not be a member of Lebanon's next government after its military setbacks against Israel last year, US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus said in Lebanon on Friday.
Ortagus is the first senior US official to visit Lebanon since US President Donald Trump took office and since Joseph Aoun was elected Lebanese president.
Her visit comes amid a stalled cabinet formation process in Lebanon, where government posts are apportioned on sectarian lines. Hezbollah's ally Amal has insisted on approving all Shiite ministers, keeping the process in deadlock.
Speaking to reporters after meeting President Aoun, Ortagus said she was "not afraid" of Iran-backed Hezbollah "because they've been defeated militarily", a reference to last year's war between the group and Israel.
"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," she said.
Hezbollah, which had developed into a powerful political and military force since its founding in 1982, was battered by months of Israeli air strikes and ground operations in southern Lebanon last year.
It has described the outcome of the war as a victory, saying it was able to keep Israeli ground troops from pushing deeper into Lebanon.
Fighting ended in late November with a ceasefire brokered by the US and France that set a deadline of 60 days for Israel to withdraw from south Lebanon, Hezbollah to pull out its fighters and arms, and Lebanese troops to deploy to the area.
That deadline was extended to Feb. 18. Ortagus referred to the new date on Friday but did not explicitly say the Israeli army (IDF) would withdraw from Lebanese territory.
"February 18 will be the date for redeployment, when the IDF troops will finish their redeployment, and of course, the (Lebanese) troops will come in behind them, so we are very committed to that firm date," she said.
'DEPARTURE FROM ETIQUETTE'
Ortagus said the US was "grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah," thanking Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam for what she described as their commitment "to making sure that Hezbollah is not a part of this government in any form, and that Hezbollah remains disarmed and militarily defeated."
Aoun and Salam have made no public commitments to keep Hezbollah out of the government. Hezbollah and Amal hold a significant number of seats in Lebanon's 128-member parliament, which needs to approve any new government.
The head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc Mohammed Raad said Ortagus's statement "constitutes a blatant interference in Lebanese sovereignty and a departure from all diplomatic etiquette".
Lebanon’s presidency said in a statement on X that some of what Ortagus said Friday "expresses her point of view, and the Presidency is not concerned with it."
Groups of Hezbollah supporters angered by her comments took to the streets near Beirut airport on Friday, burning tires and waving yellow flags emblazoned with Hezbollah's logo. Some were seen stamping on an American flag, according to a Reuters reporter.
Israel is considered an enemy by the Lebanese state, despite several ceasefire agreements ending rounds of conflict between the Israeli military and armed groups in Lebanon.
The US backs both the Israeli and Lebanese militaries.
Ortagus was expected to meet Salam, Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri - who also heads Amal - and make a trip to southern Lebanon with the Lebanese army.
