by Dana Halawi
BEIRUT, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- While some officials and experts seemed certain that the United States will eventually slap sanctions against political figures close to Hezbollah, a Shiite Lebanese political party, others ruled out such a possibility.
"We cannot assume that there will be sanctions against political figures close to Hezbollah. There has been no official statement by the U.S. stating this," Elie Ferzli, Lebanese deputy parliament speaker, told Xinhua.
Ferzli said that Prime Minister Saad Hariri did not hint at any such measures following his visit to Washington last week.
Hariri visited Washington last week and met with American officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to discuss ties between the two countries and issues related to Hezbollah.
Hariri told that he is not the one who sets the U.S. sanctions and Washington is very clear about its approach, hoping that no sanctions would be imposed on Lebanese officials.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced last month that it slapped sanctions on three key Hezbollah figures, including two members of the Lebanese parliament.
Riad Tabbarah, former Lebanese Ambassador to the United States, ruled out the possibility of the U.S. imposing sanctions against Hezbollah's allies for the time being.
"I believe that the U.S. has only threatened to impose such sanctions to put pressure on different political parties ...," he said.
A security incident took place in Aley, killing two men escorting Minister of State for Refugee Affairs Saleh Gharib through the town of Qabr Shmoun, injuring at least four others.
The shooting took place as supporters of the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblatt, tried to block the road in order to oppose a visit to a nearby town by Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.
This incident prompted Hariri to avoid calling for a meeting for the council of ministers to discuss several urgent economic and financial topics on the government's agenda, causing a political paralysis in the country.
This prompted the U.S. embassy in Lebanon to issue a statement calling upon various political parties to allow judicial bodies to solve Mount Lebanon incident's repercussions without any political interference.
Tabbarah said that the U.S. is not likely to impose sanctions against Hezbollah's allies soon because it is keen to preserve Lebanon's stability and security.
While local analysts expressed that U.S. sanctions against Hezbollah's allies is a possible scenario, expressing their worries about the possible consequences of the sanctions.
Mohannad Hajj Ali, a member of the Carnegie Middle East Center, said that the U.S. will eventually reach this point where close allies of Hezbollah will have to face their sanctions.
Hajj Ali explained that the sanctions are growing, adding that "now we will reach a phase where allies and supporters of Hezbollah will be targeted ... financial relations with Lebanon will be very difficult which we do not want now."
Makram Rabah, a lecturer from the Department of History at the American University of Beirut, believes that sanctions against Hezbollah's allies are not only rumors.
"The U.S. will not impose sanctions against Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil right away, but they will target people close to Bassil," Rabah said, mentioning that "such sanctions will impact confidence in the country."
