The U.S. is pressuring top officials in Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah and its allies from nominating the next finance minister, aiming to curb the Iran-backed group’s influence over the government, according to five people with knowledge of the matter.
The unusually direct U.S. intervention in Lebanon’s sectarian politics appears aimed at capitalising on shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Iran-backed Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year’s war with Israel and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad ousted from power.
They said U.S. officials have passed on messages to Salam and to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun – who enjoyed U.S. support as army commander and was elected president in early January – that Hezbollah should not be included in the next cabinet.
Trump Adviser Conveying Message
Three of the sources said Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos, who was appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump as an adviser on Middle Eastern affairs, was one of the people conveying that message to Lebanon.
Although U.S. Republican Congressmen have publicly urged Trump to keep Hezbollah and its allies out of government, it has not previously been reported that Boulos and other U.S. officials were delivering this message directly to Lebanon.
There was no immediate response from the White House or State Department to Reuters questions on whether the U.S. has weighed in on Hezbollah’s role in the cabinet or Boulos’s role.
Government With ‘Experienced’ People
Boulos told Lebanon’s Al Jadeed TV he looked forward to the government being formed without “those whose experience is with the previous system”, so as to restore international confidence.
One of the people familiar with the matter, who is close to Hezbollah, said there was “significant American pressure on Salam and Aoun to clip the wings of Hezbollah and its allies.”
Three other people with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters that allowing Hezbollah or Amal to nominate the finance minister would hurt Lebanon’s chances of accessing foreign funds to help meet a huge reconstruction bill from last year’s war, in which Israeli air strikes flattened swathes of the country.
Hezbollah Urges Arab Support
Much of the damage is in majority Shi’ite areas where Hezbollah draws support. Hezbollah has urged Arab and international support for Lebanon to rebuild, but Lebanese and regional sources say that international assistance is dependent on political developments.
One of those milestones was Aoun’s election as president.
A source close to the Saudi royal court said French, Saudi, and U.S. envoys had told Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the leader of Amal and a close Hezbollah ally, that international financial assistance including from Saudi Arabia hinged on Aoun’s election.
(With inputs from Reuters)
