Beirut: Hezbollah parliamentarians warned Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh about the suspension of approximately 100 party-linked bank accounts, which apparently reflected an inclination to renounce “national sovereignty”.
“The policy of blackmail and various type of pressures that US administrations practise against countries and forces that are opposed to their policies will never manage to arm-twist Hezbollah or change its stances against the US tyranny and injustice,” the Loyalty to Resistance bloc declared in a statement. It continued: “The current US administration’s targeting of the resistance and its supporters through the Lebanese banking sector is doomed to fail and will not succeed in achieving its objectives.”
On Wednesday, Salameh revealed on the American CNBC television station that one hundred bank accounts associated with Hezbollah were frozen in accordance with directives issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Treasury. The Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act, which threatens to sanction anyone who finances the group, prompted the Central Bank to take these measures to maintain the country’s financial stability.
Rattled by the revelation, the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc voiced its opposition, asserting that “the government and the Central Bank were directly concerned with protecting Lebanon’s sovereignty and its monetary and social stability,” which they concluded were not served by these latest measures.
Further commenting on Salameh’s latest statements, Mohammad Rad said these were “ambiguous and suspicious,” and reflected an “inclination to liberate the financial policy from the restraints of national sovereignty and that’s why we reject them in their entirety”. Moreover, Hezbollah insisted that “everyone must realise that the resistance’s supporters and educational and health institutions are immune to any attempt to target them by anyone,” though it was unclear what measures could be taken to curtail additional restrictions.
On Friday, Saudi daily Al Sharq Al Awsat reported that “bank accounts linked to 3,000 people affiliated with Hezbollah are expected to be frozen in the coming days,” which would create a serious dilemma and, perhaps, upset internal stability. “The accounts that will be closed will include more than three thousand people between employees, partners, customers affiliated with the party,” an unnamed source told the Saudi newspaper, adding that account holders will not be able to open new accounts in any Lebanese bank in any currency.
Hezbollah operates a variety of social, educational, religious and medical centres — in addition to its militia that is currently deployed in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere — through direct funding from Iran and donations from sympathisers. Observers believe that most Iranian financial transfers, which are estimated to top the US$400 million mark per year, are in cash and go through Syria, precisely to avoid legitimate banking channels. Individuals and institutions in Lebanon, however, rely on mundane financial bodies to conduct their affairs that will become increasingly more difficult.
