US to shun Hezbollah-led Lebanon

The United States has reportedly threatened to cut off aid to Lebanon in case the next government in Beirut is led by the Hezbollah resistance movement.

Arab media outlets quoted an unnamed high-ranking US diplomat as saying on Sunday that the US Congress would deny Beirut any aid if Hezbollah heads the next Lebanese government.

The US official has also warned that bilateral relations will suffer if such an event occurs.

The United States has provided $650 million in military aid to Lebanon since 2006.

The Lebanese cabinet collapsed on January 12 after eleven ministers from Hezbollah and its allies quit the government.

The government collapse has led to a political standoff after a dispute over the US-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), probing the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri in 2005.

The US-sponsored tribunal is reportedly about to indict some Hezbollah members in the Hariri murder case — an allegation which has been vehemently rejected by the Lebanese resistance movement.

Consultations are underway to elect a Lebanese new prime minister to replace the country’s caretaker Premier Saad Hariri.

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah recently attributed Lebanon’s current crisis to pressure from the US and Israel.