https://powerbase.info/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Morgan_OrtagusMorgan Ortagus - Revision history2026-10-22T18:49:18ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.35.14https://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Morgan_Ortagus&diff=294609&oldid=prevLebanon Bot: New page: Morgan Ortagus, with sources2026-10-22T09:56:28Z<p>New page: Morgan Ortagus, with sources</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|'''US diplomat, Trump's deputy special envoy to the Middle East and Lebanon envoy in 2025, partner of the Lebanese banker Antoun Sehnaoui'''}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Morgan Ortagus<br />
| image = Official portrait of Deputy Special Presidential Envoy Morgan Ortagus, 2025.png<br />
| nationality = American<br />
| occupation = Diplomat; former State Department spokesperson<br />
| known_for = US envoy on Lebanon, 2025; praise of [[Antoun Sehnaoui]] as a Zionist<br />
}}<br />
'''Morgan Ortagus''' is an American diplomat. She was State Department spokesperson in [[Donald Trump]]'s first administration and deputy special presidential envoy to the Middle East in his second.<ref name="NOW2026">NOW, [https://nowlebanon.com/ortagus-lebanon-must-dismantle-hezbollahs-parallel-state/ Ortagus: Lebanon Must Dismantle Hezbollah's Parallel State] ''NOW Lebanon'', 28 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In 2025 she led the administration's work on Israeli–Lebanese relations.<ref name="JPost2026">Amichai Stein, [https://www.jpost.com/international/article-908858 The weakening of Hezbollah and the fragile path to Israel-Lebanon normalization] ''The Jerusalem Post'', 17 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> ''Axios'' reported that she left the government in January 2026.<ref name="Axios2026">Axios, [https://www.axios.com/2026/03/09/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-peace-talks Lebanon asks U.S. for direct peace talks with Israel to end fighting] ''Axios'', 9 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> She is the partner of the Lebanese banker [[Antoun Sehnaoui]].<ref name="National30Jul2026">Fatima Al Mahmoud, [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/07/30/lebanon-issues-wanted-notice-for-antoun-sehnaoui-after-dinner-with-netanyahu/ Lebanon issues wanted notice for Antoun Sehnaoui after dinner with Netanyahu] ''The National'', 30 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><br />
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== Envoy to Lebanon ==<br />
On 7 February 2025, after meeting President Joseph Aoun in Beirut, Ortagus said: "Hezbollah was defeated by Israel and we are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah." She said the US had "clear red lines" that [[Hezbollah]] would not be part of the government. Aoun's office replied that her remarks expressed "her point of view, and the Presidency is not concerned with it".<ref name="National2025">''The National'', [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/02/07/joseph-aoun-morgan-ortagus-us-envoy/ Hezbollah must not be in Lebanon’s government, says US envoy] ''The National'', 7 February 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="AlMonitor2025">''Al-Monitor'', [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2025/02/us-envoy-visits-lebanon-says-us-grateful-israel-defeating-hezbollah US envoy visits Lebanon, says US 'grateful' to Israel for defeating Hezbollah] ''Al-Monitor'', 7 February 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> She told ''The Jerusalem Post'' that after March 2025 she revived the military "mechanism" set up under the November 2024 ceasefire, bringing Israeli and Lebanese officers together every two weeks, which "eventually helped lead to civilian negotiations".<ref name="JPost2026" /><br />
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== Sehnaoui ==<br />
On 17 April 2026, at an event at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum funded by Sehnaoui, Ortagus praised him as a supporter of "Israel" from a family of "Lebanese Christian Zionists".<ref name="AJ2026">Al Jazeera, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/controversy-as-lebanese-banker-sehnaoui-is-praised-for-supporting-israel Controversy as Lebanese banker Sehnaoui is praised for supporting Israel] ''Al Jazeera'', 17 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 27 July 2026 she and Sehnaoui hosted a dinner in Washington in memory of Senator [[Lindsey Graham]], attended by [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], according to an Israeli official cited by ''Reuters''.<ref name="AlMonitorJul2026">Reuters, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/07/lebanese-lawyers-seek-probe-banker-over-netanyahu-dinner Lebanese lawyers seek probe of banker over Netanyahu dinner] ''Al-Monitor'', 29 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> Lebanon's prosecutor then issued a wanted notice against Sehnaoui.<ref name="National30Jul2026" /><br />
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== Later statements ==<br />
In September 2026 she said that Israel and Lebanon were "halfway down the aisle" towards peace.<ref name="JPost2026" /> She told Iran International that Hezbollah's "parallel state within a state" would take time to remove.<ref name="NOW2026" /><br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Trump economic zone (southern Lebanon)]]<br />
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]<br />
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== Notes ==<br />
<references/><br />
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[[Category:United States|Ortagus, Morgan]]<br />
[[Category:Diplomats|Ortagus, Morgan]]<br />
[[Category:Lebanon|Ortagus, Morgan]]</div>Lebanon Bot