The US State Department condemned a complaint against Lebanon’s Ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, after reports that she contacted Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter to ask about his son, who was wounded in what the report describes as a terrorist attack. A spokesperson said Washington knew about the complaint and wanted it dropped.
“It’s embarrassing that a military court is handling a complaint against Lebanon’s ambassador in Washington simply because she was implementing her legitimate government’s policy and participating in US-led negotiations,” the statement said. Then came a warning: “We have no patience for obstruction.”
Washington Sets Terms for Lebanon’s Courts
The statement didn’t stop with the case. It told Lebanon’s military justice system to use its limited resources to prosecute Hezbollah operatives planning to act against the Lebanese government and its citizens, “rather than those acting on their behalf.” It also urged Lebanon to repeal laws and procedures that, according to the department, enable the “political persecution of citizens and diplomats,” while Hezbollah operatives systematically receive protection.
A foreign power is dictating which cases a sovereign country’s courts should pursue and which laws its legislature should scrap. Washington presents the demand as support for a “legitimate government.” That government is being told publicly how to run its own judiciary.
The Complaint and Its Origins
Lebanese lawyer Hassan Adel Bazzi filed the complaint. The State Department described him as affiliated with Hezbollah. The complaint followed an article published in September by Beirut Review. According to the report, Moawad contacted Leiter to ask about his son’s condition.
Lebanon’s attorney-general referred the complaint to the government commissioner at the military court to examine possible legal action. It’s unclear whether the case will proceed or be dismissed and closed.
The affair has raised concerns that the complaint aims to deter officials involved in negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. Such a move could complicate diplomatic efforts between the two countries amid political and security tensions in Lebanon.
Negotiations Under a US Banner
The State Department’s own language shows how the talks are structured. Moawad, it said, was “participating in US-led negotiations.” Lebanon isn’t sitting across from Israel as an equal party with a neutral mediator. Washington leads the talks and publicly sets expectations for Beirut’s domestic legal system and its handling of armed groups.
The department’s statement came alongside other US positions on Lebanese internal affairs. Hezbollah recently announced it had funds at its disposal, a claim the United States rejected. The State Department said the funds purportedly received from Iran don’t exist.
Security Claims
Lebanese authorities, meanwhile, reported intercepting a shipment of explosives. According to reports, two suspects affiliated with Hezbollah smuggled the explosives in a truck from eastern Lebanon toward Beirut’s southern suburbs.
A single outlet provides the base reporting on the complaint. The State Department’s descriptions of Bazzi, Hezbollah’s finances and the military court’s motives are its own. Whether the military court will pursue the case remains unknown. Washington’s demand is on the record: drop the complaint, redirect the prosecutors, change the laws.