U.S. envoy says Hezbollah must be disarmed 'as soon as possible'

7/4/2025 6:04

U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus

said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that Hezbollah and

other armed groups should be disarmed "as soon as possible" and

that Lebanese troops were expected to do the job.



Ortagus spoke to Lebanese broadcaster LBCI at the end of a

three-day visit to Beirut, where she met with Lebanese President

Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Speaker of Parliament

Nabih Berri and other officials and political representatives.



Her visit followed several weeks of intensifying Israeli air

strikes on Lebanon targeting members of Iran-backed Hezbollah

and the group's weapons depots, including two strikes on

Beirut's southern suburbs, and rocket fire from Lebanon onto

Israel. Hezbollah denied any role in the rocket attacks.



The exchange of fire tested an already shaky ceasefire that

ended a year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah, and calls

for the disarmament of armed groups across the country.



"It's clear that Hezbollah has to be disarmed and it's clear

that Israel is not going to accept terrorists shooting at them,

into their country, and that's a position we understand,"

Ortagus said.



"We continue to press on this government to fully fulfill

the cessation of hostilities and that includes disarming

Hezbollah and all militias," she said.



Asked whether the U.S. had set a timeline for the

disarmament to take place, Ortagus said, "As soon as possible."



"There's not necessarily a timetable so to speak, but we

know that the sooner that the LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) is

able to meet these goals and disarm all militias in the state,

the sooner the Lebanese people can be free," she said.



The ceasefire agreement calls for Lebanese troops to

dismantle armed groups' military positions and confiscate

unauthorised arms "starting with" south Lebanon. The army has

destroyed hundreds of weapons caches in south Lebanon since the

deal was agreed in November, security sources have told Reuters.



Hezbollah has long rejected attempts to disarm it. It says

the ceasefire applies exclusively to southern Lebanon, and not

the entire country, and points to Israel's air strikes and

continued presence in five hilltop positions in southern Lebanon

as major breaches of the truce.