President Joseph Aoun (left) with Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Baabda Palace, on Jan. 17, 2025. (Credit: AFP)
The American envoy Morgan Ortagus, who succeeded Amos Hochstein, is set to deliver a firm message to Lebanese leaders during her visit to Lebanon on Thursday: The United States will not tolerate the uncontrolled influence of Hezbollah and its allies in forming a new government.
According to information obtained by Reuters from a senior U.S. administration official, a Western diplomat and regional government sources, the message will be that Lebanon risks increased isolation and an economic catastrophe unless it forms a government committed to reforms, eliminating corruption, and reducing the grip of the party.
Designated as deputy to the U.S. president’s special envoy for Middle East peace, Steve Witkoff, Morgan Deann Ortagus arrived in Beirut on Thursday at the head of an American delegation. She is scheduled to meet President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam and Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri.
Since his designation on Jan. 13, Salam is attempting to form a government in which high-level positions are traditionally distributed among religious communities. The United States seeks to limit Hezbollah's influence over this government, trying to capitalize on the heavy losses the group suffered during its war with Israel in 2024.
“It is important for us to set the tone on what we think Lebanon's future should be,” said a senior U.S. administration official, while stating that Washington was not “choosing” individual cabinet members but ensuring that Hezbollah has no role. “There was a war, Hezbollah was defeated and it must stay that way,” the official added. “You do not want corrupt people. It is a new day for Lebanon. Hezbollah was defeated, and the new government must reflect this new reality.”
In circles close to the Hezbollah-Amal alliance, Salam is accused of “not respecting the nomination mechanism he agreed upon with the Amal-Hezbollah duo,” according to a Hezbollah insider.
“We have nominated our ministers who received approval from Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam,” they said, adding that the head of state and the prime minister should appoint the fifth Shiite minister in consultation with Berri, the negotiator on behalf of the duo. “However, Nawaf Salam proposed a name that did not receive Berri's approval."
Attention is focused on the president to overcome the fifth Shiite obstacle.
This stalemate ended speculation that Salam would announce his government on Thursday, just hours before Ortagus' arrival, but he left the presidential palace on Thursday without making any statements to journalists.
Reforms
David Schenker, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, stated that genuine reforms cannot come from figures affiliated with Amal.
“We cannot continue as before," he said. “If Lebanon wants to become a country rid of corruption, adopt reforms, and seek to advance as a sovereign state, then Nawaf Salam cannot appoint Hezbollah or Amal.”
Allowing Hezbollah or Amal to retain considerable influence over the government could hinder Lebanon's access to essential foreign funds to recover from the financial collapse and cover the massive reconstruction costs after the 2024 war, during which Israeli airstrikes destroyed entire sections of the country. An economic crisis that has lasted nearly five years has led the Lebanese Lira to lose about 98 percent of its value, contracted GDP by 40 percent, driven inflation to triple-digit levels, and depleted two-thirds of the Central Bank's foreign currency reserves, according to the IMF.
Western calls for reforms in Lebanon are shared by countries in the region such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which are expected to be solicited to contribute in the reconstruction funding. Before his first visit to Lebanon in 15 years, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud stated in January that the kingdom needed “to see concrete actions and real reforms” in Lebanon before injecting funds there.
On Tuesday, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani stated from the Baabda palace that his country was awaiting the formation of a Lebanese government and will then support the country.
“Our message is unanimous with the international community: We are ready to provide financial support and invest once reforms are implemented,” a source close to the Qatari government told Reuters.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.