US pressuring Lebanese leadership to isolate Hezbollah: Reuters

Five unnamed sources, quoted by Reuters, said US officials have passed on messages to Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam and to President Joseph Aoun to limit Hezbollah’s sway over the country’s sectarian politics.

“Washington is pressuring top Lebanese officials not to allow Hezbollah or its allies to nominate the country’s next finance minister,” they said.

“US officials have passed on messages to Salam and to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that Hezbollah should not be included in the next cabinet.”

According to the report, US-Lebanese businessman Massaad Boulos, appointed by US President Donald Trump as an advisor on affairs in the West Asia region, is one of those who have been conveying the messages.

Three other sources said that Salam allowing Hezbollah or its ally, the Amal Movement, to nominate a finance minister will “hurt Lebanon’s chances of accessing foreign funds” for efforts to rebuild areas of the country ravaged by Israel’s indiscriminate and destructive war.

Recent reports said that Lebanese Parliament Speaker and Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri had decided to nominate Yassin Jaber, a former minister close to his party, as finance minister.

The tug-of-war over the finance minister and some other cabinet members has sparked political tensions in Lebanon, with the Christian Lebanese Forces Party – a staunch opponent of Hezbollah – threatening to boycott the government if Hezbollah and Amal name that minister and other key positions.

The process of forming a government often takes considerable time due to Lebanon’s political and social complexities as Lebanon’s power-sharing system designates state positions on a sectarian basis, with the presidency going to a Maronite Christian, the premiership to a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament to a Shia Muslim.

Army Commander General Joseph Aoun was elected by the Lebanese parliament last month as head of state ending over two years of political vacuum since President Michel Aoun left office in October 2022.

His election has raised hopes of lifting the war-battered eastern Mediterranean country out of the economic crisis.