Lebanon’s Bassil says does not fear sanctions – Twitter post

Date:

Beirut (Reuters) – Prominent Lebanese Christian politician Gebran Bassil, the son-in-law of Lebanon’s president, said that sanctions imposed by the United States against him on Friday did not scare him.

The U.S. Treasury Department said it blacklisted Bassil, leader of Lebanon’s largest Christian bloc, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), for his role in corruption.

“Sanctions have not scared me nor promises tempted me,” Bassil said in a Twitter post following the announcement. “I do not turn against any Lebanese … and I do not save myself to let Lebanon perish.”

The FPM has a political alliance with Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Shi’ite movement Hezbollah, which the United States has designated as a terrorist group and sanctioned several of its members.

Bassil has defended the heavily armed group as vital to the defence of Lebanon. Hezbollah has risen to become the overarching power in Lebanon, which is now grappling with a financial meltdown rooted in endemic corruption, waste and mismanagement.

In September, the United States blacklisted two former Lebanese government ministers it accused of directing political and economic favors to Hezbollah.

It accused a former transport minister, Yusuf Finyanus, and a former finance minister, Ali Hassan Khalil, of engaging in corruption and leveraging their political power for financial gain.

Share post:

Popular

Recent
Related

For Kuwait’s new emir, Saudi ties are seen as key

Kuwait (Reuters) - Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah was named...

Pope Francis deplores Israeli killings of civilians at Gaza church

Vatican City (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday again...

Palestinians must find new path from Israeli rule after war, top official says

Ramallah (Reuters) - Immediately after Israel's war in Gaza...

Israel says it struck Hezbollah sites after attacks from Lebanon

Jerusalem/Beirut (Reuters) - Israel said on Sunday it had...