The U.S. Embassy in Beirut has called on the Lebanese government to step up its engagement with Israel — and quietly eliminate the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, which, while designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel, has been a formidable force in Lebanese politics for decades.
“Lebanon is at a crossroads. Its people have a historic opportunity to reclaim their land and shape their future as a truly sovereign, independent nation,” the embassy said in a letter Social media post on Thursday and warned: “The time for hesitation is over.”
The post did not directly reference Hezbollah, but said Lebanon “should never have been at war” with neighboring Israel. Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the regional conflict by launching attacks on northern Israeli communities in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began on February 28.
Israel responded with overwhelming force, launching a new offensive against Hezbollah with a heavy airstrikes campaign across the country and later a sustained ground invasion in southern Lebanon that killed nearly 2,590 people and displaced more than a million, according to authorities. Israeli leaders have said forces will continue to occupy a buffer zone across southern Lebanon from which residents have been forced to evacuate indefinitely until the threat from Hezbollah is eliminated.
Hezbollah and Israel accuse each other of almost daily violations of a ceasefire that the Trump administration brokered between the Israeli and Lebanese governments and which was extended until mid-May.
AYAL MARGOLIN/REUTERS
The U.S. Embassy said Thursday that “a direct meeting between (Lebanon’s) President Aoun and Prime Minister Netanyahu, moderated by President Trump, would give Lebanon the chance to receive concrete guarantees of full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, and the full restoration of Lebanese state authority over every inch of its territory – guaranteed by the United States.”
“This is the moment for Lebanon to decide its own destiny, which belongs to its entire people. The United States stands ready to stand with Lebanon as it seizes this opportunity with confidence and wisdom,” it said. “The time for hesitation is over.”
The Lebanese Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam met with U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa at his office in Beirut on Friday, “with discussions focused on consolidating the ceasefire and discussions related to negotiations with Israel,” Salam’s office said in a statement short statement.
