According to the American Wall Street Journal, the United States is planning a new wave of sanctions against the Allies of the terrorist organization in Lebanon • The goal: to isolate Hezbollah
Hezbollah members in Lebanon // Photo: AP
The United States is expected to soon announce a wave of sanctions against its ally of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Wednesday).
"Some of us maintain that we can finally take advantage of the difficult circumstances to shake up the local political elite," a senior Washington official told the American newspaper. "It seems to us that real public outrage and cautious external pressure could bring about a significant change in the way Lebanese leaders run their country, in terms of Hezbollah," the source added.
Senior government officials told the paper that the new sanctions would serve two purposes, to ensure that Hezbollah would not be able to maintain its presence in Lebanese politics and the other to deal with the widespread corruption among the country's ruling circles.
The paper claimed that the sanctions would freeze the assets located in the United States of several personalities and prevent them from reaching the United States. The administration is still examining the list of individuals who will be harmed by the sanctions, with the debate among US officials being over who might advance American interests in Lebanon.
One key figure likely to be harmed by the sanctions is Gavren Basil, a former foreign minister and the president's son-in-law, Michelle Aoun. "Basil should have been under sanctions many years ago," said Jeffrey Feltman, a former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon. Basil is considered a close ally of the Hezbollah cabinet.
The Lebanese government announced its resignation on Tuesday after an extraordinary public protest in the country, following the explosion of an ammonia warehouse in the port of Beirut that resulted in the deaths of over 170 people and caused heavy destruction in the center of the Lebanese capital.