US envoy Morgan Ortagus arrived in Lebanon on Sunday in what diplomats describe as the first test of Washington’s reaction to a cabinet decision backing the state’s exclusive control of weapons and giving the army a political mandate to enforce it.
The decision, adopted on Friday, has drawn mixed interpretations in Beirut but won French praise as a step toward stability.
Ortagus will join US Central Command’s Vice Admiral Brad Cooper at meetings with the Lebanese army and officials overseeing the mechanism for a ceasefire that took effect last November, government sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
While the visit is military in nature, the sources said Washington would use it to press its priorities: ensuring only state institutions hold arms and reinforcing calm along the southern border.
Cooper met on Saturday with President Joseph Aoun and army commander General Rodolphe Haykal before Sunday’s sessions, which will include the so-called quintet committee monitoring the truce. The US delegation is expected to review the army’s plan for implementing the cabinet’s decision and push for more active work by the committee.
No official American response has followed Friday’s cabinet session. But Lebanese political figures say Washington “will not settle for half-measures” and has repeatedly tied financial support to the government’s commitment to disarm non-state groups.
France, in contrast, welcomed the cabinet’s adoption of the plan, calling it “a new and positive stage” in line with a government resolution issued on Aug. 5. Paris urged all Lebanese parties to support “peaceful and immediate implementation” to pave the way for a sovereign and stable Lebanon within agreed borders.
France said it would continue backing Beirut through its role in the ceasefire monitoring mechanism, its support for the Lebanese army, and its contribution to the UN peacekeeping force (UNIFIL). It also signaled readiness to organize conferences in support of the military and reconstruction when conditions allow.
Confusion Inside Lebanon
Friday’s cabinet decisions have been met with differing interpretations. Lawmaker Marwan Hamadeh described them as “vague,” noting both Hezbollah-aligned factions and pro-sovereignty forces claimed satisfaction. He said the measures brought temporary calm but urged patience until positions emerge from Washington, Israel and Syria, who he said were “directly concerned with the decision.”
Hamadeh suggested secret provisions might involve curbing individual weapons transfers or movements across regions, which would mark progress if enforced.
Hezbollah had signaled unease before the session, with motorbike rallies in Beirut’s southern suburbs and threats to halt cooperation with the army south of the Litani River. Hamadeh dismissed the specter of civil war as political pressure, but said US interest in “step-for-step” measures could influence American talks with Israel.
Hezbollah Response
On Saturday, senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters that the group considered the cabinet session on an army plan to establish a state monopoly on arms "an opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown.”
But he warned the group rejected two key elements: tying implementation to an American roadmap and conditioning it on Israeli conduct. As long as Israel continues its raids and keeps forces in southern Lebanon, the plan must remain suspended, Qmati said.
Hezbollah expects the government to develop a national security strategy instead, he added.
