Hezbollah Calls on Lebanese Government to Counter US Sanctions

The leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, called on the Lebanese government on Friday to defend Lebanese citizens who have been sanctioned by the United States, stating that these sanctions harm the people. According to the Associated Press, in a televised speech, Nasrallah said the new government, which Saad Hariri was tasked with forming the day before, cannot 'turn its back' on these individuals. The US government has considered Hezbollah a terrorist group and has sanctioned it for decades. However, this month, the US and its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf imposed new sanctions against Hezbollah's leadership, including Sheikh Nasrallah and traders and companies that, according to Washington, financially support the group. Sheikh Nasrallah commented on the sanctions against Hezbollah's leadership, saying, 'We have no money to put in the bank and no bank accounts or transfers.' He added that these sanctions harm individuals and that the government 'should defend these people instead of behaving even more American than America itself.' Nasrallah also criticized US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had stated on Tuesday that the results of the Lebanese parliamentary elections were not what the US or 'most of the Lebanese people hoped would happen.' Nasrallah said, 'What the people of Lebanon want is none of your business.' Hezbollah and its allied groups achieved a significant victory in the parliamentary elections held on May 6. The Associated Press noted that Nasrallah spoke on Friday to commemorate the eighteenth anniversary of the Israeli army's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, a withdrawal significantly influenced by Hezbollah's guerrilla warfare. This day is referred to as 'Liberation Day' in Lebanon and is a public holiday. The Hezbollah leader stated that US sanctions against the group would not affect the formation of the new government. Saad Hariri, who is supported by the West, hopes to quickly form a new government that will likely resemble the previous national unity government that included Hezbollah members. In his remarks on Friday, Nasrallah also denied supporting the Polisario Front in Western Sahara, stating that there is no contact between Hezbollah and that group. Recently, Morocco cut diplomatic ties with Iran in protest of Hezbollah's connection with the Polisario Front. The Moroccan Foreign Minister claimed that his government has evidence proving that Hezbollah has supported the Polisario Front through training and financial assistance since 2016. Sheikh Nasrallah stated that no evidence has been presented to support this claim.