U.S. Treasury Secretary Urges Lebanon to Disrupt Financial Networks Linked to Iran and Hezbollah

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bissent said in a post on X that he met with the Lebanese Prime Minister.

Bissent added that he discussed with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Lebanon's Finance Minister Yassine Jaber the main financial sector reforms in the country.

Bissent emphasized: "On discussing the need for decisive action to disrupt the financial networks linked to Iran and Hezbollah, and the importance of fundamental reforms in the financial sector to restore confidence in the Lebanese banking system."

Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam also held a meeting with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, and International Finance Corporation (IFC) President Makhtar Diop, at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, with the presence of World Bank Operations General Director Anna Bjerde, and the General Director of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Tsutomu Yamamoto, and Executive Director at the World Bank Group Abdulaziz Al-Mulla.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Finance Yassine Jaber, Minister of Energy and Water Joumblatt, and Lebanon's Ambassador to the United States Nada Hamadeh Mouawad.

During the meeting, the discussion focused on the path of cooperation between Lebanon and the World Bank Group, and ways to expand it in line with the government's priorities in reform, recovery, and reconstruction.

President Salam also emphasized the importance of working on developing regional connectivity and integration projects in the fields of infrastructure and energy.

The discussion also covered the projects supported by the World Bank in Lebanon, and ways to secure more support and funding for priority projects, particularly in the sectors of energy, water, and infrastructure, in addition to digital transformation and social safety nets.