Trump blocks $105m in aid for Lebanon

Lebanese demonstrators gather at Martyrs’ Square and Riad Al Solh Square during an anti-government protest against dire economic conditions and new tax regulations on messaging services like Whatsapp, in Beirut, Lebanon on 19 October 2019. [Mahmut Geldi – Anadolu Agency]

Just two days after the resignation of Lebanese prime minister, Saad Al-Hariri, American president Donald Trump’s administration has blocked $105 million in security aid for Lebanon.

Reuters exclusively reported two US officials as stating this, however, the officials did not divulge as to why the aid was blocked.

The US State Department informed Congress on Thursday that the White House’s Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council had decided to withhold the foreign military assistance, the two officials explained.

One of the sources claimed, according to Reuters, that the State Department did not give Congress a reason for the decision.

The State Department declined to comment.

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