Hebrew Center: Tehran Has Become the ‘Actual Ruler’ in Lebanon

3 years ago

12

Print

Share

A Hebrew center sheds light on the scenes of forming Najib Mikati's government in Lebanon, especially that French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with his Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi to obtain his approval to announce the formation on September 10, 2021.

The Jerusalem Center for Public and State Affairs, based in Tel Aviv, indicated that "the Lebanese pound began to recover immediately after the announcement of the formation of the new government in the country headed by Najib Mikati."

Within two hours, the value of the lira on the black market had reached nearly 20,000 to the dollar, but the initial expression of confidence was replaced by other voices heard in the newspapers on September 12, 2021 that “France cooperated with Iran in forming the government.”

However, the center added: "This happened despite the fact that the Western world and France in the forefront see that Hezbollah is one of the main culprits in the political and economic deterioration in Lebanon, a criticism that intensified even more after the Beirut port disaster in August 2020."

Macron reportedly negotiated with Raisi to give his consent to the formation of the new government, and so Raisi (known as the "Butcher of Tehran" due to his involvement in the killing of thousands of civilians after the 1979 revolution) spoke with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and ordered him to agree to the formation of the government.

"If this story is true, it is another step in the framework of the irresponsible European policy on the Iran issue," a senior Israeli source told the Hebrew website Globes.

He added, "Despite Iran's change of government and its hard-line policies, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports on advanced uranium enrichment. Europe and France want to conclude an agreement with it. This means turning a blind eye and ignoring what Iran is doing in uranium enrichment."

 

Government for an Agreement

"The agreement means that Raisi has become the man who decides in Lebanon and controls it from a distance," the researcher at the Hebrew Center and expert on Lebanon affairs, Jack Neria, told Globes.

According to him,” the consideration given by Macron to my president is assistance in contacts to renew the nuclear agreement in Vienna. In August 2021, the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report on uranium enrichment in Iran, according to which "the country has already reached the highest level of enrichment, and at the same time does not allow inspectors to enter its facilities or see photos from there."

According to Neria, it is no coincidence that despite serious reports of Iranian violations, and in parallel with the formation of the government in Lebanon, the Director-General of the Agency, Rafael Grossi, came to Tehran to speak with the leaders of the regime there.

During the cabinet meeting on September 12, 2021, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett referred to reports regarding the acceleration of Iranian uranium enrichment and European policy.

“Here I am calling on the powers not to fall into Iranian traps that will later lead to further concessions, they should fix a date and stop playing with time.” Bennett said.

 

Gloomy State

The Hebrew Center pointed out that the US State Department issued a congratulatory statement on the appointment of the new Lebanese government, adding that it must take quick decisions to improve the bleak state of the country's economy and its citizens.

But the United States is looking the other way, and is not showing the basic aid it promised to Lebanon, according to the center.

The statement said: "The United States is donating $372 million in humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people." The aid is provided through United Nations agencies and institutions, where Hezbollah controls government ministries and is not trusted by donor countries.

The "new" formed government consists entirely of a small number of technocrats, although they are all also linked to the country's parties, politicians, and faction leaders.

For example: Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, who was one of the heads of the Central Bank, and the new Minister of Health is Firas Abyad, one of the heads of the health system, but the new government is still being formed according to the old ethnic key, and according to Neria this means that “what was is what will be,” and technocrats don't have the power to change anything."

The Hebrew Center indicated that "Hezbollah appointed two ministers in the government on its behalf, but not in the offices it wanted." According to reports in Lebanon, the organization accepted the ruling in part because, according to the agreements concluded between Macron and “my president,” the new government promised to continue allowing it to operate independently. As a state within a state, the economic situation of the organization is not worrisome.

This is partly due to the decline in Iranian support and the war in Syria, but it is still much better than Lebanon. The country, according to the Jerusalem Center for Public and State Affairs.

Tags