Referring to foreign intervention in Lebanon and US political and economic pressure on the Lebanese government, Hussein Rouyvaran in an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, said: “The US is pursuing a policy of starving the Lebanese people so that it may be able to intensify criticisms of the government and portray an incompetent image of the ruling administration in solving the existing crises and provoke them against the Hezbollah.

He added: “The fact that the Lebanese people have more than $40 billion in capital in the banks and the banks have transferred all the money elsewhere and the people are not able to access their money caused dissatisfaction. Some may have $1 million in the bank, but they cannot withdraw more than $ 3,000 a month ($100 a day). With this situation, many businessmen have gone bankrupt.

US Efforts to Outrage Lebanese Society through Banking System

Emphasizing that the United States seeks to outrage the Lebanese society through the banking system, the Middle East affairs expert referred to the reaction of Lebanese Hezbollah Secretary General Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, who said, “We will not remain hungry but will kill you if we have to.” “In the current situation, the conspiracy against Lebanon is being pursued economically and with political goals,” he said.

Rouyvaran also assessed the call of Seyed Hassan Nasrallah to cultivate agricultural lands as efficient as possible in order to create a model of resistance economy in Lebanon to counter US policies and noted: The intervention of the US Embassy in Lebanon’s internal affairs is unprecedented. Dorothy C. Shea, the US ambassador in Beirut is acting outside the bounds of all norms. She directs the opposition against the government and says the prime minister should be replaced; Hezbollah should not be in the new cabinet, enters into talks with Hariri and says that if he becomes prime minister, they will allow the money to return and the situation to change! Of course, the French ambassador to Lebanon, Bruno Foucher, along with the US ambassador, had made strange and intrusive remarks about the need to change the prime minister in Lebanon, which will have a negative impact on the attitude of the Lebanese people towards France.

US Policy of Maximum Pressure against Lebanon

He stressed: “These measures show that the United States has adopted a policy of maximum pressure against Lebanon; but it must be borne in mind that this policy cannot change the situation in Lebanon; because the government in Lebanon is a national government, and the prime minister and the president are fully trusted by the people.

Referring to the process of electing the current prime minister in Lebanon following the escalation of popular protests against government corruption and popular support for him, the Middle East affairs analyst said: “Hezbollah is trying to counter the conditions created by the United States by motivating production.  Unfortunately, the dependent governments have generated $130 billion in debt for Lebanon in the last 30 years. They have regularly borrowed from other countries to survive and manage the state affairs by using that money.”

Rouyvaran added: “The government of Hassan Diab, despite the fact that it is far from corrupt and even one person in his government does not have any corruption record, is paying the expenses of the pro-US and corrupt governments of the past. The corruption of the previous pro-US governments was covered by Washington. In the current situation, the West is putting pressure on this clean government and is trying to incite the people against it.”

Lebanese Government Will Not Succumb to Foreign Interventions

Emphasizing the sensitivity of the current situation in Lebanon and the need to maintain internal cohesion by the people, parties and political groups, he added: “It is a misconception to think that the Lebanese government will fall with these foreign interventions. Lebanon will stand on its own two feet and get out of this crisis, but it definitely needs patience, perseverance and resistance. The Lebanese people have also shown great patience in these conditions and they are trying to change this situation with the help of the independent ruling government and Hezbollah.

Need to Maintain Internal Cohesion in Lebanon

Commenting on the support of political groups and parties for the government in overcoming the crisis and criticizing the hurdles thrown in the way of the government by certain internal factions, the expert said: “The political situation in Lebanon has never been uniform because some groups and political parties have foreign affiliation. Also, because the powers in Lebanon do not understand each other, they create a kind of internal dispersion and confrontation in Lebanon.”

Rouyvaran, meanwhile, added: “But at the moment the parliamentary majority is in the hands of the Hezbollah and the government of Mr. Hassan Diab, and the rest are the minority and cannot overthrow the government. Hezbollah and its allies, given the parliamentary majority, must take the initiative to bring the people out of this pressure as much as possible.

He said the government should somehow manage the economy and revive domestic capacities. Unfortunately, the Lebanese people have abandoned their internal capacities for years; but under the status quo there is a will to activate these internal potentials.