Hezbollah blasts US meddling in Lebanon's banking sector

Hezbollah has slammed the US government’s interference in Lebanon’s banking system, after an American delegation was sent to the Mediterranean country on a mission to probe the resistance movement’s finances.

“We condemn the work of the investigating American delegation in Lebanon and its interference in the Lebanese banking sector,” Member of Parliament Hasan Fadlallah said Thursday in a statement that Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc issued after their meeting.

Hezbollah’s political wing also warned that the move by the US violates Lebanon’s sovereignty and provokes anti-Hezbollah sentiments.

In 2014, the US Congress passed the so-called Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Acts and amended it in 2017 in a bid to separate Lebanon’s banks and other financial infrastructure from the bloc.

Lebanese officials have been critical of the laws, arguing that Washington’s pressure on Beirut to go after Hezbollah could destabilize the entire country.

The laws introduce illegal sanctions against Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and top commander Mustafa Badreddine as well as a number of businessmen. Lebanon’s al-Manar TV and al-Nour Radio are also on the list.

Loyalty to Resistance denounced the Lebanese banks’ commitment to the US laws.

“The decision to abide by the US law could make the monetary crisis in Lebanon worse as it could drive Lebanon towards bankruptcy because of the wide boycotts by the Lebanese and banks, something which will lead to monetary collapse and chaos,” the statement read.

SS