Morgan Ortagus, U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East, during a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (not pictured) in Beirut, on April 5, 2025. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
The U.S. Deputy Envoy for the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, stated on Tuesday that relying on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to pull Lebanon out of the crisis it has been sinking into for years "is not the only solution" for Lebanon, but an "option," as many reforms demanded by the international community still need to be adopted.
"The IMF is not the only solution. It is an option. I have an ambitious plan and a vision in which Lebanon could even do without the IMF if we manage to make this country a nation conducive to investments. I can use those present here as investors, to avoid increasing the country's debt," she said during an intervention moderated by a presenter from the Bloomberg channel, Joumanna Bercetche.
Invited to give her opinion on the economic reforms undertaken by Lebanese authorities, the U.S. official recalled that Beirut has indeed adopted legislation on banking secrecy and judicial reform. "They now need to address the banking sector law and the law on the distribution of losses," she stressed, encouraging the authorities "to take this issue seriously" and "act with determination."
Cash economy and Hezbollah
"It is important because after the collapse of the banking system, the cash-based economy that exists in Lebanon is the best solution for Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations, for money laundering and corruption," she insisted, suggesting that one feeds off the other. "We therefore do not want a society solely based on cash. We must restore confidence in the banking sector," she further affirmed.
Ortagus emphasized that the goal of the reforms is to eliminate widespread corruption in Lebanon and counter Hezbollah’s dominance, highlighting the importance of rebuilding trust in the banking sector as a key step toward achieving these objectives.
The restructuring of the banking sector in Lebanon continues to falter. While the parliamentary debate on the banking resolution bill is now confined within an ad hoc subcommittee, IMF experts issued, in a letter addressed on May 13 to the government and which L'Orient Today was able to consult, around fifteen substantive remarks. They particularly point out certain provisions of the bill that, according to them, sometimes ignore certain internationally recognized principles in this area.
During her intervention in Doha, the U.S. envoy also affirmed that in six months, Lebanon has done more than in 15 years, but that Lebanon still has "a lot to do" to disarm Hezbollah, as provided for in the ceasefire agreement between the Shiite movement and Israel, she had stated, while at the same time sending a positive message to Beirut.
Washington's message is the same: it is necessary to break free from Hezbollah's grip. Lebanon is aware that a significant international decision has been made on this subject, and that the responsibility is placed on the state and what it can undertake to achieve this goal.
In this context, the army continues its mission south of the Litani River, including search and weapon recovery operations. It is expected that international pressure to extend search and dismantling operations north of the Litani River will increase in a second phase.
