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On Saturday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun requested the evidence, prompting Washington to impose sanctions on his son-in-law, former Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, a Hezbollah ally, accusing him of corruption.
In the first response to the US decision, Aoun announced in a tweet that he had asked the Foreign Minister to obtain the evidence and documents that led the US Treasury Department to press charges against Bassil, and highlighted the need to hand over the documents to the Lebanese Judicial Power, so that it can take the necessary measures if any data becomes available.
A source in the presidency clarified that Bassil is a Lebanese vice minister and former minister accused of corruption, and if there is evidence against him, the Lebanese judiciary should follow up on the matter. Bassil, 50, is considered one of Aoun’s closest people. He is the head of the Free Patriotic Movement led by the President of the Republic and a close ally of Hezbollah, against whom Washington imposes sanctions and considers him a “terrorist.”
American accusations
The United States Department of the Treasury declared that Bassil is “responsible or an accomplice, or was directly or indirectly involved in corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets and the confiscation of private assets for personal gain.” “.
At a press conference, an American official accused Bassil of using his influence to delay the formation of a government in Lebanon and said that Bassil established a political partnership with Hezbollah that allowed Hezbollah to expand its influence and contribute to the system of government. , which failed to meet the basic needs of the Lebanese people. This is the first time that US sanctions have hit a high-ranking political official from Hezbollah’s Christian allies.
Shadow president
Since Aoun took office in 2016, Bassil is widely viewed as the “shadow president.” During the popular protests a year ago, which lasted for several months, there was consensus that he was the target of slogans of condemnation and insults, but he and his movement insisted that it was one of the most of a job for Lebanon, and that he was “prevented” from achieving reforms.
Since 2018, Bassil has headed the largest parliamentary bloc, and since 2008 he has held the communications, energy and foreign portfolios in successive governments, with the exception of the last government that was formed after the protests, and presented himself as an apolitical specialist, until who resigned after the Beirut port explosion.
In recent years, Bassil has long been accused by his opponents of obstructing the formation of governments by imposing their conditions, a charge that has been repeated in recent days when Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has wavered in forming a government.
In September, the US administration also imposed sanctions on former Minister of the Christian Marada Movement, Hezbollah ally Yusef Fenianus, and former Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil of the Shiite Amal Movement, led by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, the most prominent ally. of Hezbollah.
