Washington Considers Sanctions against Hezbollah

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A bill to cut off Hezbollah’s access to the international banking system is working its way through the U.S. Congress, with strong backing from the U.S. supporters of the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu.   After the Obama Administration cut off Congressional efforts to impose new sanctions on Iran last year due to concern that the law would sabotage the ongoing and promising P5+1 nuclear negotiations with Tehran, the present legislation was drawn up to impose indirect sanctions on Iran by hitting one of its allies—the Lebanese based Hezbollah.  The law seeks to punish any banks or government agencies that deal with Hezbollah.

Lebanese government officials are equally concerned that if the bill were to pass both Houses of Congress and be signed into law by President Obama, it would create havoc and badly damage the functioning of the Lebanese Central Bank.  Furthermore, Hezbollah’s March 7 bloc has a one-third stake in the new Lebanese government, and there are now sensitive negotiations underway to reach a consensus on a new Lebanese president.