Hezbollah using alternative route to evade Lebanon’s economic crisis

Menna Abdel Razik

The Lebanese Hezbollah movement tries to solve its economic crisis and evade the sanctions imposed by the administration of U.S. President, Donald Trump, on it by working in the drug trade, trafficking Iranian goods into Arab markets and laundering money.

The movement uses these alternative plans to maintain its grip on Lebanese politics and its control on Lebanese streets.

It also works to control important Lebanese ministries, including the Health Ministry, whose annual budget exceeds $338 million.

The movement has already succeeded in controlling the ministries of agriculture, water and transport.

Buying time

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Naeem Qassim, had previously opposed terms set out by the International Monetary Fund for lending Lebanon money. These terms, he said, open the door for control by the international lender over Lebanon’s financial sectors.

Michael Young, a researcher at Carnegie Middle East Center, said the movement had rejected the terms of the fund because it is afraid for its own interests, especially its network of clients.

The terms of the fund, he said, would also negatively affect many of the illegal activities of the Hezbollah movement.

Young said the fund demands the closure of points on the border between Lebanon and Syria, which are usually used by Hezbollah in the trafficking of arms and goods between the two countries.

He noted in an article that Lebanon has only one option: economic reform and sustainable development.

Iranian goods

Hanin Ghaddar, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, revealed that a huge amount of Iranian goods enter the Lebanese market in an illegal manner.

She added that most of the traders involved in the trafficking of Iranian goods into Lebanon are backers of Hezbollah.

Iranian steel exports to Lebanon rose to $1.4 million in 2019, from $13,000 in 2017.

Hezbollah is also deeply involved in the Lebanese pharmaceutical sector. This was behind the decision of the U.S. administration to apply sanctions to this sector.