The billionaire chosen by Hezbollah to become prime minister of Lebanon told the U.S. ambassador Thursday that he is committed to having good ties with Washington.
Najib Mikati met with U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly days after Washington warned that the formation of a government dominated by the Iran-backed militant group would mean changes in relations with Lebanon.
The 55-year-old telecom tycoon "confirmed during the meeting the importance of bilateral relations between Beirut and Washington," he said in a statement as he began the process of forming a new government.
The Shiite group and its allies toppled Lebanon's Western-backed government two weeks ago and secured enough support in parliament to name Mikati as their pick for prime minister Tuesday.
Opponents of Hezbollah — which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization — say having an Iranian proxy at the helm of Lebanon's government would be disastrous and lead to international isolation.
I'm sure our new, nuanced, outreach-enabled diplomacy will ignore the fact that terrorists run Lebanon and continue our aid to the government. That's how we roll these days, it seems. If we don't care that Syria is an Iranian puppet regime, why should we care that Lebanon is, too?
But I'm sure that Iran would do nothing evil with their influence over Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza, right? I mean, we extended an open hand to Iran. Surely, that's got to count for something.
