The US Deputy Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, concluded her meetings on Saturday with Lebanese President Joseph Khalil Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on the situation in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese-Syrian border, and financial and economic reforms to combat corruption.
Ortagus arrived in Beirut on Friday for her second visit to Lebanon since US President Donald Trump took office in January. Her last visit was in February.
الاجتماع بين رئيس الجمهورية العماد جوزاف عون ونائبة المبعوث الأميركي إلى الشرق الأوسط مورغان أورتاغوس، كان بنّاءً، وتم البحث بين الوفدين، في عدد من الملفات، أبرزها:- الوضع في الجنوب اللبناني- الحدود اللبنانية-السورية - الإصلاحات المالية والاقتصادية لمكافحة الفسادوكان قد سبق… pic.twitter.com/Yksmfu5Rj6
— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) April 5, 2025
Salam’s office said in a statement on X/Twitter that the meeting included discussions on the measures taken by the Lebanese Armed Forces to implement UN Resolution 1701 and the security agreement for the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon, as well as the completion of the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
استقبل رئيس #مجلس_الوزراء #نواف_سلام نائبة المبعوث الأميركي الى الشرق الأوسط السيدة مورغان اورتيغوس، ترافقها نائبة مساعد وزير الخارجية لشؤون الشرق الأدنى وسوريا نتاشا فرانشيسكي إضافة الى السفيرة الأميركية في #لبنان السيدة ليزا جونسون، ووفد مرافق.وقد تخلل اللقاء بحث في ملفات… pic.twitter.com/9OFsr37Ptk
— رئاسة مجلس الوزراء (@grandserail) April 5, 2025
Ortagus reportedly expressed satisfaction with the measures Lebanon’s government has begun to implement at Beirut’s international airport.
Developments on the Syrian-Lebanese border were also discussed, with an emphasis on Lebanon securing complete control over the border and preventing any fighting and smuggling.
They also discussed financial and economic reform issues, with Ortagus commending the government’s plan for reforms, particularly the steps it has initiated, according to the statement.
These include the lifting of banking secrecy, the drafting of a banking sector reform law, the launch of a new mechanism for appointments to state departments, and the government’s plans for administrative and institutional reform and combating corruption. The need to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund was also emphasized.
She is also scheduled to speak with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Ortagus was expected to demand that Lebanese authorities establish a clear schedule for Hezbollah’s disarmament, Al-Monitor reported, citing local reports.
She was also expected to push for the beginning of talks between Israel and Lebanon on the demarcation of their border, currently marked by the Blue Line drawn by the United Nations in 2000.
Three Lebanese officials were reportedly expected to outline the Lebanese position on the border demarcation and additional remaining issues between Israel and Lebanon.
In this regard, they were expected to address concerns regarding the five outposts the IDF continues to operate from in Lebanon, Lebanese detainees still held in Israeli jails, and Israeli strikes on Lebanon.
Last Friday, in an interview with the Saudi al-Hadath channel, Ortagus said that the Lebanese government had to eliminate the groups that fired rockets at Israel and that Israel had the right to respond to such groups.
The interview came after Israel’s strike on Lebanon’s suburbs in Beirut following rockets that were launched towards areas in the Galilee from Lebanese territory.
The US State Department later reiterated Ortagus’ call for the Lebanese government to disarm terrorist groups like Hezbollah, according to Reuters.
The department added that Israel was defending itself from rocket attacks that came from Lebanon.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon
Since this last interview, the IDF has struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon twice, most recently on Friday.
The IDF killed Hamas commander Hassan Farhat during a strike in Lebanon's Sidon on Friday and killed Hassan Ali Badir, a Hezbollah and Iran Quds Force terrorist, in an overnight strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday.
Farhat was the commander of the western sector of Hamas in Lebanon. Badir was also deputy head of Hamas’s Palestinian affairs department.
On Wednesday, two US lawmakers on the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee warned the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in a letter that it has been too slow in meeting ceasefire requirements, according to Al-Monitor.
“Any LAF hesitancy to meet the security challenges in the south would be deeply concerning and force the United States to re-evaluate its approach,” Sens. Jim Risch (R-Ida.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) reportedly wrote.
“Government control of customs, the airport, and routes in and out of Lebanon are critical to ensure Hezbollah continues to wither under a lack of resources,” the letter reportedly stated.
Under the agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Hezbollah must move its fighters and infrastructure to north of the Litani River, and the Lebanese army must increase the number of soldiers deployed in the area to ensure that Hezbollah does not rearm itself.