Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US Sanctions on Syria Leave Hezbollah More Isolated in Lebanon

Nisan Ahmado

   WASHINGTON - New U.S. sanctions targeting the Syrian government appear
   to also undermine Hezbollah in Lebanon. Experts say the measures are
   alienating Hezbollah from its political allies in Lebanon and weakening
   its usage of state institutions to assist the Syrian regime.
   The sanctions, introduced on June 17 and known as the Caesar Syria
   Civilian Protection Act, have been described by the group's leader
   Hassan Nasrallah as an "economic war" that aims at "starving both Syria
   and Lebanon." He has called on the Lebanese government to ignore them.
   While the sanctions may not be devastating for Hezbollah, they could
   deter other parties in Lebanon's governing coalition from following the
   Iran-sponsored group's wish to improve ties to Bashar al-Assad's
   administration, according to Hanin Ghaddar, a senior fellow at the
   Washington Institute.
   "Hezbollah has been calling the Lebanese government to normalize
   Lebanon's relations with the Assad regime," Ghaddar told VOA. But, he
   said, none of Hezbollah's allies "wants to challenge Caesar Act,
   especially when there are negotiations going on with the international
   community to salvage the country from its devastating economic crisis."
   Hezbollah has been classified by the U.S. as a terrorist organization
   since 1997. The group is sanctioned under the 2014 Hezbollah
   International Financing Prevention Act, which prevents entities
   associated with Hezbollah from gaining access to international
   financial and logistics networks and blocks its ability to fund global
   terrorist activities. The U.S. Treasury earlier this year announced
   further sanctions, blacklisting 15 Hezbollah-affiliated entities in
   Lebanon.

.