Hizbullah Bloc Slams U.S. Treasury's 'Interference' in Lebanon
SOURCE: NAHARNET
BY: NAHARNET NEWSDESK
Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc on Thursday accused the U.S. administration of “continuing its incitement against Hizbullah through a symphony of questioning and fabricated accusations that lack any evidence.”
“The bloc condemns the work of the U.S. panel of inquiry in Lebanon and its interference in the Lebanese banking system,” said the bloc in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.
Describing the U.S. delegation’s visit as “a violation of Lebanese sovereignty,” Loyalty to Resistance said “empty claims about keenness on Lebanon’s ties and its alleged international friendships do not justify remaining silent” over the U.S. move.
A statement issued Tuesday by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said Assistant U.S. Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea visited Lebanon January 22-23 to discuss combating illicit finance, including “financing of Hizbullah’s terrorist and trafficking activities.”
In his meetings, Billingslea engaged with Lebanese authorities and financial institutions on combating all forms of illicit finance, stressing “the importance of countering Iranian malign activity in Lebanon, and the U.S. commitment to help Lebanon protect its financial system from Hizbullah, ISIS (Islamic State group), and other terrorist organizations,” the Embassy said.
The visiting U.S. official also urged Lebanon to take “every possible measure to ensure Hizbullah is not part of the financial sector.”
Concerning the Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act II, Billingslea emphasized the law “does not target the Shia community,” but targets Hizbullah’s alleged “financial activities worldwide.”
The official also highlighted the “close partnership that the U.S. government has with the Central Bank of Lebanon and Lebanese financial institutions,” reiterating the importance of “adhering to U.S. sanctions.”
During the visit, the official met with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, Chairman of the Banking Control Commission Samir Hammoud, the Association of Banks of Lebanon, and the Union of Arab Banks.
