Hezbollah Wednesday condemned the US decision to impose sanctions on two of Lebanon’s former ministers, stressing that the policy would not be able to achieve its objectives in the country.
“The US sanctions policy ... will not lead to the subjugations of the Lebanese and force them to forfeit their sovereign national rights,” said a statement from the Shiite party.
Hezbollah called the US a “terrorist authority,” which “has no right ... to classify honorable people and resistance fighters as terrorists.”
“Everything that comes from this administration is condemned and rejected,” the statement said.
Hezbollah’s comments come after Lebanon’s Amal Movement condemned the decision to slap sanctions on a former finance minister, saying the move was an attack on the country’s sovereignty as a whole.
The sanctions imposed on the Amal Movement’s Ali Hasan Khalil “is not targeting a person who has occupied a ministerial position ... but rather is targeting Lebanon [and] its sovereignty,” a statement from the Shiite party said.
“This decision will not change our convictions and our national and patriotic principles,” the Amal statement added.
The US Tuesday blacklisted two former ministers, Khalil and Youssef Fenianos, saying they provided material support to Hezbollah and engaged in corruption. Khalil is affiliated with Amal Movement and Fenianos with Marada movement, both considered allies of Hezbollah, which the US brands as a terrorist group. The sanctions are the latest US attempt to pressure Lebanon to weaken the involvement of Iran-backed Hezbollah in the government.
A statement from the Treasury Department listed allegations made against Khalil, who served as finance minister from 2014 to 2020, claiming that “In late 2017 ... Hizballah leaders, fearing a weakening of their political alliance with the Amal Movement, reached an agreement with Khalil where he was prepared to receive Hizballah support for his political success.”
The head of Marada Movement Suleiman Franjieh also commented that imposing sanctions Fenianos was a political decision made to “undermine his position, beliefs and reputation.”
“We, as Marada, are not ashamed of our positions, but are proud,” Franjieh said in a statement, stressing that the US decision would not influence the party’s opinions.
President Michel Aoun said in a tweet that he had asked the foreign minister to contact the American Embassy in Beirut “to learn about the circumstances that dictated the decision.”
This article has been adapted from its original source.
