Report: Lebanon Expects New Sanctions before Trump Leaves White House

A new batch of U.S. sanctions on Lebanon is reportedly expected to hit the country before the official end of term of President Donald Trump in January, the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to information obtained by the daily, it said the United States will impose “strict” sanctions on Lebanon before Trump leaves the White House.

According to the 20th Amendment, after losing the presidential election, Trump’s term would end at noon on Jan. 20, 2021.

Al-Anbaa said the proposed sanctions are likely political, not economic, and include a joint US-French position on the current Lebanese authority.

It said the above “was reported to Lebanese officials in Beirut through text messages that arrived from Paris.”

In a recent set of sanctions, the US Treasury announced sanctions against Lebanon's former energy and foreign affairs minister Jebran Bassil, accusing him of corruption involving billions of dollars that has left the economy in a shambles.

Bassil, however, has repeatedly denied the accusations against him, insisting that his party is at the forefront of efforts to root out corruption from Lebanon.

The latest sanctions came as the United States, as well as former colonial power France, press for a new government in Lebanon to push urgent reforms.