Is Aoun worried over future US sanctions?

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The US Treasury on Tuesday announced it was imposing sanctions on former finance minister and top Amal official Ali Hassan Khalil and former public works and transportation minister Youssef Fenianos, a senior member of the Christian Marada Movement because they “provided material support to Hezbollah and engaged in corruption.” The move was Washington strongest warning against Hezbollah’s allies. President Michel Aoun who signed a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah back in 2006 when he was serving as the Free patriotic Movement leader and who remained as a key ally of Hezbollah appears to be concerned about the US sanctions specially because another list is coming next week with new names

Free Patriotic Movement founder ,president Michel Aoun (left) , is shown during his meeting with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah ( right). The meeting was held on October 24th , days before the parliament elected Aoun as president in October 2016 . Hezbollah delayed the election of a president for about 2.5 years to make sure Aoun gets elected

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun has asked his interim foreign minister to contact the US embassy about the imposition of sanctions on two of the country’s former ministers, the presidency media office said on Wednesday.
Aoun also requested contact be made with the Lebanese embassy in Washington “in order to understand the circumstances” behind the decision to place the politicians, allied with the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, on its sanctions list.
The US Treasury on Tuesday announced it was imposing sanctions on former finance minister and top Amal official Ali Hassan Khalil and former public works and transportation minister Youssef Fenianos, a senior member of the Christian Marada Movement.
The treasury department said they “provided material support to Hezbollah and engaged in corruption.” The move was Washington strongest warning against Hezbollah’s allies.
Khalil is currently a member of the Lebanese Parliament and Hezbollah and its allies control majority seats in parliament. 
The Shiite Amal group is headed by Lebanon’s longtime Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Marada Movement is an organization allied with Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government. 
The sanctions came as Lebanon grapples with an unprecedented economic and financial crisis and deals with the aftermath of a devastating explosion at Beirut’s port that killed more than 190, wounded 6,500 and caused damage worth billions of dollars.
The sanctions also came as prime minister-designate Mustapha Adib works to form a new Cabinet to replace the one that resigned on Aug. 10, six days after nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in Beirut. The disaster fueled outrage against a ruling class that has run the country for decades amid widespread corruption and mismanagement.
Some analysts in Lebanon saw the sanctions as a message to Hezbollah’s allies to review their links with the Iran-backed group, especially by targeting a Christian ally for the first time.
“Fenianos and Ali Hassan Khalil are two central figures in the coalition that is led by Hezbollah,” said Ali Hamadeh, a political writer at An-Nahar newspaper who is often critical of the Iran-backed group.
He added that by sanctioning Fenianos, the US is sending a message to Frangieh, the Marada chief, who is a presidential hopeful. Hamadeh said Hezbollah’s non-Shiite allies will now have to “think seriously about the repercussions of their relations with Hezbollah.”
Amal denounced the US sanctions against one of its senior members in a statement on Wednesday, saying they infringe on Lebanon’s sovereignty and will not succeed in extracting any concessions.

According to David Schenker, Assistant Secretary Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, the US will impose sanctions against more people who are allied with Hezbollah and the list of the people will be announced next week
(Arab News / Reuters / AP

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7 responses to “Is Aoun worried over future US sanctions?”

  1. Lebanese Emigrant Avatar
    Lebanese Emigrant

    This traitor incompetent, nitwit of a President is getting really scared he will be sanctioned by the US. He should not only be sanctioned. But also be tried and sentenced by the military court for corruption and treason. Period!

    1. I heard that diapers for seniors are tough to get now in Lebanon after Baabda bought all the existing stock . I wonder now if Riad Salameh will be forced to subsidize this item too for environmental reasons !!! You never know

      1. Lebanese Emigrant Avatar
        Lebanese Emigrant

        That is classic Arzna.

  2. In the afternoon of September 10, a fire broke out on the territory of the Beirut port. Plumes of black smoke rise above the object. Helicopters of the Lebanese Air Force are involved in extinguishing the fire.

    The exact cause of the fire has not yet been established, according to preliminary information, a flame broke out in a tire warehouse.

    Several of the victims received medical attention after having difficulty breathing.

    Lebanese media report that panic has broken out in areas adjacent to the port. Campaigns located here announced the evacuation of workers

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