UANI Resource: Perspectives on Lebanon and Hezbollah

Perspectives: Lebanon and Hezbollah  February 1, 2019 Perspectives: Lebanon and Hezbollah, is a UANI weekly resource highlighting developments in Lebanon and the activities of the terrorist group Hezbollah.    Cabinet Formation Lebanon Forms a Government Dominated by Hezbollah-Allied Parties Lebanon finally announced the formation of a government on Thursday, nine months after conducting parliamentary elections. The new government will be headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and will consist of 30 ministers. The new cabinet will be dominated by Hezbollah-allied parties, which received a total of 18 Ministries. Hezbollah itself directly received two ministries. Mahmoud Qmati was named State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Mohammad Fneish received the Youth and Sports portfolio. Most critically, however, Hezbollah also indirectly received the Health Ministry with the appointment of Dr. Jamil Jabaq. Jabaq is not a direct Hezbollah party member, but is closely linked to the party's inner circles. He was Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's personal doctor for a period of time prior to 2006. Theoretically, because Jabaq is not an actual Hezbollah member, the group hopes to be able to control Lebanon's Health Ministry and have access to its funds while avoiding U.S. sanctions against either the ministry or the Lebanese health sector. Past Lebanese governments have employed such an arrangement, as in 2005, when the cabinet formed by Fouad Siniora included Hezbollah allies Trad Hmadeh and Fawzi Salloukh serving as Minister of Labor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, respectively. During his tenure, Salloukh met with then-Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and even visited the White House.   Hariri also agreed to allow Hassan Mourad, a pro-Hezbollah Sunni, to receive the State Minister for Foreign Trade portfolio. Mourad is ostensibly a compromise candidate appointed to represent the so-called "Consultative Gathering" - an ad hoc group of six pro-Hezbollah Sunni MPs. However, Mourad is entirely aligned with Hezbollah and its interests. Mourad's appointment also carries another important negative implication for the U.S. and its Lebanese allies: In the long-term, it will weaken Saad Hariri's position within Lebanon's Sunni community in favor of a pro-Hezbollah Sunni voice. To Hezbollah, this serves as a long-coveted toe-hold which it can use to gradually undermine Hariri's leadership of Lebanon's Sunnis. Hezbollah Internationally Ali Shamkhani: Hezbollah Now Possesses Iranian Precision Missiles Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary-General of Iran's National Security Council, claimed this week that both Hezbollah and Hamas, Gaza's Palestinian armed faction, were now equipped with Iranian-made precision missiles. ODNI Includes Hezbollah in Worldwide Threat Assessment Statement The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its annual worldwide threat assessment statement this week, which included a section on the threat to U.S. interests posed by Hezbollah. The report said Hezbollah will likely continue developing its terrorist capabilities, and "most likely maintains the capability to execute a range of attack options against U.S. interests worldwide." Lebanon Foreign Relations President Michel Aoun Discusses Terror Financing with U.S. Delegation Lebanese President Michel Aoun met this week with a U.S. delegation headed by Marshall Billingslea, the U.S. Treasury Department's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing. During the meeting, Aoun pledged Lebanon's support for American efforts to combat terror financing. France Denies Asking Israel to Cease Military Strikes Until Lebanon Formed a Government A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied on Monday that France had asked Israel not to carry out any military strikes in Lebanon before a government was formed in Beirut. The spokesperson also denied that France had ended its support for the Lebanese Army. The spokesperson called the reports, "speculations [sic] which have no basis." In a related report, An-Nahar claimed this week that France had become fed up with Lebanon. The report said Paris no longer took Lebanon or its leaders seriously, particularly President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. It claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron may cancel his upcoming scheduled visit to Lebanon and would in the future only meet with Hariri secretly. Assad Regime Lists Hariri's Future Movement as Terrorist Group A Syrian news site revealed a list of 105 entities and individuals considered terrorists by Syria's Assad regime. The list included Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's Future Movement.  Future responded to the terror classification by saying its reputation and history could not be sullied by the "bloodthirsty" Assad regime. Hariri himself called the classification a "badge of honor" since it came from a "regime which itself is terrorist." United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.