U.S. calls Lebanon envoy’s referral to military prosecution “disturbing” as it defends her participation in talks with Israel

The U.S. State Department condemned the referral of a legal complaint against Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, to the military prosecution, calling it “disturbing” that a diplomat could face judicial scrutiny for carrying out government policy and taking part in a U.S.-led trilateral agreement with Israel.

The complaint was filed by lawyer Hassan Adel Bazzi after allegations published in late September by Beirut Review that Mouawad had contacted Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter to express sympathy after his son was reportedly injured in a vehicle-ramming operation in the occupied West Bank.

The trilateral agreement, promoted by the U.S. and the Lebanese government, was not prompted by grassroots public demand or a popular movement, the post said. It described the initiative as top-down and U.S.-backed, aimed primarily at moving Lebanon toward normalization with Israel.

Washington’s intervention puts renewed pressure on Lebanon over its legal restrictions on contact with Israel, while U.S. officials defend Mouawad’s participation in negotiations mediated by Washington. The State Department also urged Lebanon’s military judiciary to focus its resources on Hezbollah and called for the repeal of laws and practices it said enable the politicized targeting of diplomats.

Beirut Review reported that Lebanon’s Prosecutor General transferred the case to the Government Commissioner to the Military Court for appropriate legal proceedings.