According to a Wall Street Journal report, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will announce sanctions against former Secretary of State Jubran Basil, who is considered an ally of the Hezbollah terrorist organization
Lebanese Foreign Minister Jubran Basil
Photography:
Reuters
The Trump administration is expected to impose sanctions on former Lebanese Foreign Minister Jubran Basil, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
According to informed sources, the purpose of the sanctions is to limit the power of Hezbollah, Basil's ally of the Maronite Christian Free Patriotic Party.
According to a US official and another source who spoke with the newspaper, the United States plans to impose sanctions on the Lebanese official for aiding Hezbollah.
The move may pave the way for a new government in Lebanon.
These days, former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri of the Sunni al-Mustaqbal party is in talks to form a new government.
In any case, the move is expected to come as part of a series of sanctions promoted by the Trump administration on Hezbollah and its affiliates, about a week and a half before the end of the current tenure.
In light of last-minute changes, the decision was approved by Treasury Department and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The latter is expected to announce this in Washington later today.
Representatives of the Treasury Department in the administration did not respond to inquiries or respond to the news, and a State Department spokesman declined to comment.
The Lebanese foreign minister has not yet commented.
Earlier this year, when asked about the possibility of sanctions being imposed on him by the United States, Basil replied to the newspaper that working with Hezbollah is the political reality in Lebanon, where Shiites are a dominant player.
"Everyone should be sanctioned in Lebanon because everyone is doing business with Hezbollah," he said.