A US Treasury Department official says Lebanese officials who are members of the resistance movement Hezbollah could be sanctioned under a new US law.
The US Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act (HIFPA) passed in December targets Hezbollah’s financial institutions and threatens sanctions against anyone who finances the resistance movement.
The Treasury’s Assistant Secretary Daniel Glaser said the new law could be applied to Hezbollah ministers and MPs in Lebanon.
“We don’t make a distinction among Hezbollah members,” he said in an interview with television channel LBC.
US officials and the Lebanese central bank have stressed that the measure does not target ordinary Lebanese citizens.
“We are implementing this law worldwide. Obviously it has specific impact here in Lebanon because Hezbollah has a big presence here in Lebanon,” Glaser said.
“But Hezbollah is the target of this legislation, not the Shia. And I can’t say that strongly…