Trump appoints new US ambassador to Lebanon
The US president says he has appointed Michel Issa to be the next US ambassador to Lebanon.
“Michel is an outstanding businessman, a financial expert, and a leader with a remarkable career in Banking, Entrepreneurship, and International Trade,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Issa, who does not appear to have any prior diplomatic experience, replaces career diplomat Lisa Johnson, who was confirmed by the Biden administration in December 2023.
Who is Michel Issa, Trump’s new ambassador to Lebanon?
Announcing the move, Trump described Issa as an “outstanding businessman, a financial expert, and a leader with a remarkable career in Banking, Entrepreneurship, and International Trade”.
Issa’s LinkedIn page lists his current role as CEO of global financial firm, Newton Investment Group. It says he was born in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and that he moved as a child to Paris, France.
He obtained a degree in economics from the University of Paris, and started out as a currency trader in Paris and New York. After quitting banking, he started an automobile dealership and sold the company and moved to Newton.
Issa, however, does not appear to have any prior diplomatic experience.
The US has played a leading role in monitoring and enforcing the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah since November. It also began work on a sprawling new embassy in Lebanon in 2023, reportedly the second largest in the world after Baghdad in Iraq.
Israel strikes towns in southern Lebanon during biggest assault since ceasefire
As we previously reported, the Israeli military has conducted 15 air strikes on southern Lebanon within a 30-minute period, in the highest concentration of Israeli attacks since the ceasefire with Hezbollah came into force in November.
Our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues now report that at least some of those strikes targeted the Wadi Barghaz area and the town of al-Ahmadiya in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s military – which has repeatedly violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement – said it targeted Hezbollah “military sites” where “weapons and rocket launchers” were located.
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