by thearabweekly.com — Makram Rabah — When the French Mandate founded “Grand Liban” — the State of Greater Lebanon — almost a century ago, it was never assumed that the small merchant republic would someday reach rock bottom. Decades of unheeded political corruption, coupled with Beirut’s inability to maintain solid connections with its regional Arab allies, left Lebanon desperate for a lifeline from the international community, primarily France. The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG), led by France and the United Nations, met December 11 in Paris to discuss options to help Lebanon in its predicament. Observers said the ISG was a first step towards Lebanon’s economic salvation because France would lead an international effort to inject much-needed funds into the Lebanese economy, which collapsing towards a total meltdown.

Time and again, French President Emmanuel Macron has shown remarkable resolve in supporting the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, including sponsoring the CEDRE donor conference in April 2018, which earmarked $11 billion to overhaul Lebanon’s decaying infrastructure and jump-start its ailing economy. However, the CEDRE funds were part of a wide reform package that the Lebanese state had publicly subscribed to, which included administrative, fiscal and budgetary reform, none of which were implemented by Hariri’s cabinet, leaving the $11 billion in limbo. Despite visits by French envoy Pierre Duquesne and his repeated urging to Lebanese officials of the importance of the reforms, the recommendations were ignored and the Hariri government failed to address key challenges, primarily reform of the electricity sector and the proper passing of the annual budget. Lebanon’s lack of seriousness, its irresponsible attitude and its refusal to heed the warnings of the international community were penalised in Paris when the ISG convened without any serious Lebanese presence. Beirut was represented by token senior diplomats and a few Hariri advisers.

by arabnews.com — BEIRUT: US Secretary Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the US supported the Lebanese people in their fight against government corruption and terrorist threats. Pompeo took to Twitter on Friday, where he posted: We stand with the people of #Lebanon to fight against corruption and terrorism. Today we designated two prominent Lebanese businessmen whose illicit financial activity supports Hizballah. We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to counter the threat Hizballah poses.

On Friday, the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions against two alleged Hezbollah money launderers and financiers, including a diamond trader who collected art. It accused Lebanon-based Nazem Said Ahmad, whose art collection includes works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, and his companies of helping to launder large sums of money for the group. “Ahmad, who has a vast art collection, is one of Hezbollah’s top donors, generating funds through his longstanding ties to the ‘blood diamond’ trade,” it said. A second man based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Saleh Assi, was sanctioned for laundering money through Ahmad’s diamond business and supporting another alleged financier already under sanctions. Pompeo’s comments came as the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned that the formation of a new cabinet desperately needed to redress a tumbling economy could take time.

Lebanon has been swept by unprecedented nationwide protests since October 17, demanding the complete overhaul of a political class deemed inept and corrupt. The government stepped down on October 29, but bitterly divided political parties have failed to agree on a new premier ever since. Hezbollah chief Nasrallah spoke ahead of parliamentary consultations to nominate a new prime minister on Monday. “The consultations are supposed to take place on Monday and we hope that whoever receives most votes will be designated to form a government,” he said in a televised address. “But the formation will be no easy feat,” he warned.

by AFP — BEIRUT — Dozens of young people opposed to Lebanon’s anti-government protest movement clashed with riot police in Beirut on Saturday, throwing rocks and firecrackers against volleys of teargas. Late Saturday afternoon, young counter-protesters from an area of Beirut dominated by the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah and fellow Shiite movement Amal tried to […]

by memri.org — On December 12, 2019, Morteza Ghorbani, a senior advisor in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), threatened that Iran could attack Israel from Lebanese soil. Responding to the Israeli foreign minister’s remark that an Israeli attack on Iran was “an option,” Ghorbani stated: “If the Zionist regime makes [even] the smallest mistake vis-à-vis Iran, we will level Tel Aviv to the ground, from Lebanon, without having to launch a single missile or any [other] device from Iran… God knows that if, one night, Iran’s leader [Ali Khamenei] will order a missile attack [on Israel], those Zionists will all surrender… Today, the hearts and spirits of the Yemeni, Syrian, Iraqi, Lebanese and Gazan peoples are with Iran.”[1] Ghorbani’s statement evoked outrage among many Lebanese officials. A conspicuous response was that of Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab, considered to be close to Hizbullah. He said that, if Ghorbani had indeed made the statement, it was very saddening and was an infringement of Lebanon’s sovereignty. Other officials said that Lebanon was not a no-man’s-land to be used by Iran, or a conduit for relaying IRGC threats to other countries. Describing the statement as a violation of Lebanon’s honor and dignity, some called to demand an explanation for Ghorbani’s statement from the Iranian ambassador and even to expel the ambassador.

Criticism of Ghorbani’s remarks was also expressed in Lebanese press articles, which condemned not only Ghorbani but also Lebanese officials, for failing to respond to such Iranian statements and allowing Iran to trample Lebanon’s sovereignty. In response to the uproar, IRGC spokesman Ramezan Sharif issued a denial, stating that Ghorbani’s remarks had been “distorted and misconstrued by the media.” Sharif added that “Ghorbani does not currently serve as an IRGC advisor but serves in other capacities in the armed forces.”[2] The following are excerpts from some of the Lebanese responses to Ghorbani’s statement.

Lebanese Officials: Ghorbani’s ‘Unacceptable’ Statement Is A Violation Of Lebanon’s Sovereignty; Lebanon Is Not A Conduit For Conveying IRGC Messages Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab tweeted on December 10: “Assuming Ghorbani… indeed made the statements attributed to him, they are very saddening and unacceptable, and are an infringement of the sovereignty of Lebanon, which has friendly relations with Iran. Lebanon’s independent decision-making must not be harmed in any way.”[3]

by AFP — BEIRUT: US Secretary Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the US supported the Lebanese people in their fight against government corruption and terrorist threats. Pompeo took to Twitter on Friday, where he posted: We stand with the people of #Lebanon to fight against corruption and terrorism. Today we designated two prominent Lebanese businessmen whose illicit financial activity supports Hizballah. We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to counter the threat Hizballah poses.

On Friday, the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions against two alleged Hezbollah money launderers and financiers, including a diamond trader who collected art. It accused Lebanon-based Nazem Said Ahmad, whose art collection includes works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, and his companies of helping to launder large sums of money for the group. “Ahmad, who has a vast art collection, is one of Hezbollah’s top donors, generating funds through his longstanding ties to the ‘blood diamond’ trade,” it said. A second man based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Saleh Assi, was sanctioned for laundering money through Ahmad’s diamond business and supporting another alleged financier already under sanctions.

Pompeo’s comments came as the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned that the formation of a new cabinet desperately needed to redress a tumbling economy could take time. Lebanon has been swept by unprecedented nationwide protests since October 17, demanding the complete overhaul of a political class deemed inept and corrupt. The government stepped down on October 29, but bitterly divided political parties have failed to agree on a new premier ever since. Hezbollah chief Nasrallah spoke ahead of parliamentary consultations to nominate a new prime minister on Monday. “The consultations are supposed to take place on Monday and we hope that whoever receives most votes will be designated to form a government,” he said in a televised address. “But the formation will be no easy feat,” he warned.

By SARAH EL DEEB , Associated Press — BEIRUT (AP) — The head of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said Friday the best emergency government to deal with the country’s worsening economic crisis is one that includes all political groups. Hassan Nasrallah’s comments indicated there was no resolution yet on who should head an emergency government, two months after Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned Oct 29. Protests erupted Oct. 17 over proposed new taxes and spiraled into calls for the entire political elite to step down. The protesters have also said they won’t accept Hariri as returning prime minister.

Consultations between President Michel Aoun and parliamentary blocs to name a new premier were expected Monday. They were postponed once before over disagreements on naming a new premier. Nasrallah’s comments were also a rejection of a proposition put forward by political ally Gebran Bassil, who called for a government made up of experts and said he won’t take part in one headed by Hariri. Bassil said Thursday a government picked by Hariri, according to his conditions, would be destined to fail. Hariri had said he wants a government without political groups, made up of technocrats alone. “The patriotic duty calls for everyone to take responsibility, to take part and for all to offer concessions,” Nasrallah said in an 70-minute speech in which he characterized the situation in Lebanon as dire. “How can a government from one group deal with a crisis of this nature?” He said any “salvation government would have to take unpopular measures,” and can’t afford to engage in disagreements with other political parties.

by theguardian.com — Julian Borger in Washington — US intelligence agencies will be given a month to make a formal declaration on whether the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was responsible for the murder of the Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi. The annual military spending bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), was passed by a large majority in the House of Representatives on Wednesday and is expected to be approved by the Senate next week before being signed into law by Donald Trump. In negotiations before the NDAA’s passage, sections stipulating that Khashoggi’s murderers be subject to punitive measures were stripped from the bill, on the insistence of the White House – as were clauses that would have cut US support for the Saudi war in Yemen.

According to the New York Times, the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, took a leading role in negotiations on behalf of the White House, and was insistent that the punitive clauses on Saudi Arabia should be removed. But the final version of the bill retained language requiring the director of national intelligence (DNI) to present a formal determination within 30 days on who was responsible for the murder and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October last year. In April, the US barred entry to 16 Saudis for their role in the murder plot, including one of the crown prince’s closest aides, Saud al-Qahtani. This week, the state department added the former Saudi consul general in Istanbul, Mohammed al-Otaibi.

Asharq Al-Awsat — The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) will not join a new government under the terms insisted on by caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, but it will not obstruct the formation of a new cabinet, its leader Gebran Bassil, who is Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, said on Thursday. Bassil called for the formation of a […]

The Daily Star — BEIRUT: Future Movement MP Hadi Hobeish filed a lawsuit against Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Ghada Aoun Thursday as the latter filed a complaint against the lawmaker for defamation and threatening her. Aoun submitted her complaint to the Cassation Public Prosecution, calling for the lawmaker’s arrest, trial and questioning. Her complaint was accompanied by […]

by Tom Rogan — washingtonexaminer.com — With telling embarrassment, Iran is rowing back comments made by an adviser to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The problem? The adviser inadvertently admitted that Iran values Lebanon only as its puppet. Speaking on Monday, retired Gen. Morteza Qorbani told an Iranian news outlet that Iran did not […]