In a first response to comments made by U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus from the Baabda Palace after her meeting with President Joseph Aoun, Hezbollah's parliamentary group leader Mohammad Raad deemed them "an unacceptable interference in Lebanese affairs." He was reacting to the diplomat's statement that this party "should not be included in the future government."

"This statement is full of hate and irresponsibility; it targeted a Lebanese component that is an integral part of the national agreement and Lebanese political life," Raad said in a statement distributed to the media. These American comments "are an unacceptable interference in Lebanese affairs and a disrespect to all diplomatic customs and international diplomacy rules," he added.

The U.S. envoy from the Trump administration, visiting Lebanon on Friday and Saturday, asserted that "Hezbollah's reign of terror in Lebanon and around the world is over." "Israel has defeated Hezbollah, and we are grateful to it, and we insist that Hezbollah should not under any circumstances participate in the new Lebanese government," she added.

"The presidential statement distancing itself from these remarks is sufficient for us," he said. In this statement, the presidency specified that "some comments made by U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus from the Baabda Palace reflect her views and do not concern the presidency."

Raad did not want to "comment extensively on comments targeting a Lebanese component that stood up to Israeli aggression and emerged victorious." "The victor is the one who showed the true face of this enemy [Israel] and its genocide against civilians, homes and hospitals," the deputy continued. He accused Ortagus and, through her, the United States, of attacking Hezbollah while supporting the terrorism represented by Israel, thus harming the "alleged American democracy." Raad concluded: "We rely on the resistance of our people, which is based on the army-people-resistance equation, the realistic equation that Lebanon can be proud of as it preserves its sovereignty."

Moreover, on Friday afternoon, a group of young Hezbollah supporters, calling themselves "the student league," gathered in front of Beirut's airport building to protest against the U.S. envoy's comments.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine condemned in a statement "Israeli aggressions" on several Lebanese localities in South Lebanon or East Bekaa on Thursday, during the U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus's visit to Beirut. "The U.S. envoy bragged about Israel's victory over Hezbollah and thus blessed the crimes of the enemy that killed life in more than 40 villages in South Lebanon," he said.