The Prime Minister-designate of Lebanon intends to hold further consultations to form the government

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib said he would allow more time for consultations to form a new government, while his hesitant efforts cast doubt on the prospects for a French initiative that seeks to lift the country out of its crisis.

France is pressuring Lebanon’s divided sectarian leaders to quickly form a government and undertake reforms to lift the country out of its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

But the September 15 deadline that politicians promised Paris to form a government has passed, and Lebanese media reports indicate that Adeeb may resign from the mission.

After a meeting with President Michel Aoun, Adeeb said he had agreed “to wait a bit to allow more time for the ongoing consultations to form the government.”

The prime minister-designate, who tried to compress a process that normally takes months of negotiations between the factions into about two weeks, added: “I know we do not have the luxury of time and I count on everyone’s cooperation.”

The process stalled when the two dominant Shiite factions in Lebanon, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and the Amal Movement, insisted on appointing Shiite cabinet ministers and said the finance minister should be among them.

Political sources say that Adeeb is working on proposals to change control of the ministries, many of which have been assigned to the same factions for years, and seeks to form a government of specialists to implement the reforms proposed by France.

Adib is a Sunni who was appointed prime minister by a clear majority of Lebanese parties under pressure from France as prime minister on August 31. He is supported by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a prominent Sunni Lebanese politician.

Political sources from various parties said Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, head of the Amal Movement, has become more insistent in appointing the finance minister, after Washington imposed sanctions on his top aide last week for corruption and empowerment of Hezbollah. .

Hezbollah, a heavily armed group designated by Washington as a terrorist organization, accused the US administration of “obstructing efforts to form a government,” but said it still sees the opportunity to agree to its formation.

“Hezbollah has clearly told us that de-escalation is important now,” an Iranian official familiar with Iran’s policy on Lebanon told Reuters, adding that if Adib or anyone else wants stability, they should also “listen to Hezbollah’s advice.” .

In a new move on Thursday, the Treasury Department said it had imposed sanctions on two Lebanon-based companies and one individual for their alleged ties to Hezbollah.