U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack, who is serving as special envoy to Syria, said on Monday that Hezbollah could have a future in Lebanese politics, despite the organization’s designation by the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

“Hezbollah is a political party. It also has a militant aspect to it,” Barrack said at a press conference on Monday morning in Beirut, following a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “Hezbollah needs to see that there is a future for them, that the road is not not harnessed just solely against them, and that there’s an intersection of peace and prosperity for them also.”

Barrack said he was “unbelievably satisfied” with the Lebanese government’s response to the U.S.-proposed peace plan for the country, which includes the complete disarmament of Hezbollah and Israel ceasing airstrikes within the country. 

Looking forward, Barrack emphasized that Hezbollah’s role within a new governing structure would be decided by the Lebanese government alone, with the U.S. playing a supporting role.

“Nobody is better than the Lebanese in choosing opportunities,” Barrack said. “The region is changing, everything is moving at warp speed. All of the countries around us are changing, are morphing. You have a president of the United States who has committed to saying he has great respect for Lebanon, that he is behind it, and he wants to help in peace and prosperity.”

In May, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said 80 percent of the government’s objectives in disarming Hezbollah were met, reportedly with assistance from Israel, including intelligence and military support.

Morgan Ortagus, who joined the Trump administration as Steve Witkoff’s deputy Middle East special envoy, has now moved to a position at the U.S. mission to the United Nations, a State Department source told Jewish Insider. 

A State Department directory lists Ortagus as a senior policy advisor at the mission to the U.N., according to a screenshot obtained by JI. 

Ortagus left Witkoff’s office after a widespread purge of Israel and Iran officials at the National Security Council. Ortagus is close with Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor who is now his pick to serve as ambassador to the UN. 

Ortagus served as the State Department spokesperson during Trump’s first term, becoming a familiar face advocating for the president’s foreign policy priorities.