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US sanctions on Hezbollah negatively impact Lebanon, parliament speaker says

March 23, 2019 at 1:30 pm

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) in Beirut on March 22, 2019 [JIM YOUNG/AFP/Getty Images]

Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, yesterday told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that US sanctions on Hezbollah have a negative impact on the country,

“Hezbollah is a Lebanese faction and it is in the parliament and part of the government,” Berri said, according to Arabi 21.

He added: “[Hezbollah’s] armed resistance is a result of the continuous Israeli occupation of the Lebanese lands.”

Pompeo met with Berri yesterday in the Lebanese capital Beirut and “discussed a number of issues related to the Lebanese economy and implementation of critical reforms, as well as the need to maintain calm along the boundary between Lebanon and Israel”.

A statement by the US State Department said: “Secretary Pompeo expressed hope that Lebanon would be able to join the other states of the Eastern Mediterranean in developing offshore resources in a manner of benefit to all the people of Lebanon.”

He also highlighted “US concerns about Hezbollah’s destabilising activities in Lebanon and the region and the risks posed to Lebanon’s security, stability and prosperity”.

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