Nabih Berri condens US sanctions on Lebanese figures

New U.S. sanctions against Hezbollah, including two Lebanese lawmakers, amount to an assault on the country and its parliament, Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday.

The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on three top officials from Iran-backed Hezbollah on Tuesday: Amin Sherri and Muhammad Raad, members of Lebanon’s parliament, as well as Wafiq Sada, who coordinates with Lebanon’s security agencies.

It marks the first time the U.S. Treasury has designated a Lebanese MP under a sanctions list targeting those accused of supporting terrorist organizations. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the sanctions were part of efforts to counter Hezbollah’s “corrupting influence” in Lebanon.

Washington classifies Hezbollah, a heavily armed Shi’ite political and military movement that wields major influence in Lebanon, as a terrorist group.

“It is an assault on the parliament and as a result an assault on all of Lebanon,” Berri, a Shi’ite ally of Hezbollah, said in a statement.

Lebanon’s dollar-denominated sovereign bonds fell and the cost of insuring exposure to its debt rose on Wednesday after the sanctions.

Meanwhile, 5-year credit default swaps (CDS) jumped 17 basis points (bps) from Tuesday’s close to 925 bps, according to IHS Markit. CDS last traded at these levels in January, when fears of a potential debt restructuring rattled Lebanon investors.

“These sanctions are unwarranted and do not serve financial stability,” Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, a senior Berri aide, said on Tuesday night in a TV interview. “Lebanon and its banks are committed to all the legislation and there is no justification at all for escalating these sanctions.”

Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad told Lebanese al-Jadeed TV the move was “an insult to the Lebanese people” and a blow to the country’s sovereignty.

Source: Reuters

 

The Liberum

The subtitle of The Liberum ("the voice of the people is the voice of God") reflects the concept that the collective opinions and will of the people carry divine importance. They embody truth and wisdom, particularly in a non-partisan arena that profiles itself as a marketplace of free ideas and thoughts.
See full bio >
The Liberum runs on your donation. Fight with us for a free society.
Donation Form (#6)

More articles you might like

The West has forgotten it is allowed to survive

Europe was governed for decades by parties that believed history had already chosen them. Then […]
- by Nadia Ahmad on 06/09/2026

The heirs of Esau: Rome, Christianity, and the making of the West

In the first part of this essay, Esau was explored not as a biological ancestor […]

The orphans of the Arab Republic: Are secular Sunnis becoming the new minority of the Levant?

The secular Sunni Arab saw himself as the natural centre of the modern Middle East. […]

Fault lines of war: Iran, Lebanon, and the coming regional breakup

The war on Iran lacked a unified strategy. It began as a disagreement at the […]

What Drove Abdul Ballout?

This essay examines the ideological motive attributed to Abdul Ballout after the attack on Berlin […]

Cease the drone buzz: Redefining ceasefire in Lebanon

There was a time when the word ceasefire meant simple things. The shooting stopped, the […]