US tries to stop Hezbollah from nominating Lebanon finance minister
Washington is pressuring senior Lebanese officials to prevent Hezbollah or its allies from nominating Lebanon’s next finance minister, according to five sources familiar with the matter, The New Arab via Reuters reported on January 31st.
The US seeks to curb the group’s influence as Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam forms a new cabinet.
The intervention follows shifts in regional power dynamics, with Hezbollah weakened by the recent war with Israel and the removal of its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power. US officials are seemingly aiming to benefit from the shift in power, through its intervention.
US officials have said to Salam and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who was elected in early January, that Hezbollah should not be a part of the new cabinet. Three sources said that Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos, who was a Middle Eastern affairs advisor to President Donald Trump, was one of the people delivering the message to Lebanon.
Although Republican Congressmen have called on Washington to block Hezbollah and its allies from government, this is the first reported instance of US officials and Boulos directly giving this message to Lebanon. The White House and State Department have not immediately responded to Reuters’ inquiries regarding Washington’s stance of Hezbollah’s position in the cabinet or Boulos’s role.
A source close to Hezbollah said there was “significant American pressure on Salam and Aoun to clip the wings of Hezbollah and its allies.” Other sources told Reuters that permitting Hezbollah or Amal to nominate the finance minister hinders Lebanon’s access to foreign funds needed for post-war reconstruction.
Salam, nominated on January 13th to create Lebanon’s new cabinet, has spent the past two weeks consulting with political parties to distribute cabinet posts based on sect and political leanings. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the leader of Amal and a close Hezbollah ally, told Al Hurra on January 28th that Amal had nominated lawmaker and former minister Yassin Jaber for the post.
Three sources indicated Washington does not oppose a Shi’ite nominee but objects to Hezbollah or Amal selecting the minister. One source said Washington told Salam that Lebanon has entered a new chapter and Hezbollah and its allies should no longer obtain “sensitive ministries such as finance.”
Michael Young at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said the US considers the finance ministry role to be a “red line” due to its control over Lebanon’s public expenditure. “The US is trying to put in place in Lebanon a post-Hezbollah order . . .” Young told Reuters
Amid Lebanon’s rebuilding efforts, the White House announced on January 26th that the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire will be extended until February 18th, according to The National via Reuters. The two-month ceasefire was brokered by the US and France. It was signed between Israel and Lebanon on November 27th.
The New Arab, The National, Reuters
