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Lebanon’s Hariri: US sanctions took ‘new course’

July 11, 2019 at 4:15 pm

Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri in Beirut, Lebanon on 14 February 2019 [LEBANESE PRIME MINISTRY OFFICE / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency]

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said he regrets that the US has imposed sanctions on members of Hezbollah.

On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department announced it has imposed new sanctions on three members of the group. They include two members of Lebanon’s parliament.

Aoun said in a statement yesterday that the US decisions are repeated from time to time and contradict previous positions.

He added that he will follow up on the issue with US authorities.

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Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who is backed by Western powers and is one of Hezbollah’s local opponents, said that the new US sanctions on Hezbollah “took a new course by being imposed on MPs.”

“But,” he added, “this will not affect parliament or the work that we do both in Parliament and the Council of Ministers. It is a new development and we will deal with it as we see fit and will issue a stance about it.”

He added that Lebanon was facing “pressures and challenges on the economic and financial levels.”