Lebanese president seeks evidence from US after Washington sanctions Hezbollah-allied ex-FM Bassil

The Lebanese government wants to see the evidence of the alleged corruption of its former foreign minister, Gebran Bassil, that the US used to justify imposing sanctions on him.

Bassil, an influential Lebanese MP, was slapped with personal sanctions by the US Treasury for allegedly “exemplifying” the endemic corruption in the country. President Michel Aoun has instructed the Foreign Ministry to obtain the evidence that the US has against Bassil. The documents would then be sent to the Lebanese judiciary “to take the necessary measures,” the president's office said on Saturday on its Twitter account.

The US said Bassil, who served as energy minister and foreign minister, abused his offices by engaging in nepotism and funneling budget money to his friends.

Bassil, who is also Aoun's son-in-law, is an avowed supporter of the political movement Hezbollah, a fact that reportedly played a key role in Washington's decision to target him with sanctions. The US considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The movement is backed by Iran, the nation that Washington has subjected to economic and political pressure in a supposed effort to force it to behave “like a normal country.”

The MP responded to the news by saying that he had become “accustomed to injustice.”

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