Lebanon perpetual crisis is Iran's ploy

• Published date: 11 October 2021
• Author: SETH J. FRANTZMAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

There are several facts here. Lebanon recently went days without power, and the army is now supplying fuel. However, that doesn't solve the long-term energy problem and the country's debts. Lebanon has trouble importing fuel supplies, and the power stations are out of fuel. This has set Lebanon on the path to constant and increasing crises. Yet it is not some blockaded country, such as the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

It's worth considering this fact: Hamas, like Hezbollah, is backed by Iran and has been encouraged to fight Israel at the cost of harming the people it governs. That means the destruction of Lebanon and Gaza is in Iran's interests.

However, whereas Gaza is indeed under blockade and has a constant fuel and electricity crisis, there is no excuse for why Lebanon has become an economic basket case. There are Lebanese who are incredibly wealthy abroad, and there is evidence that many have simply sent their money abroad, not investing in the failing state.

At the same time, Hezbollah has sponged up what remains in Lebanon, grabbing political power and leveraging it to have a stranglehold on the presidency and other parts of government, conducting its own foreign policy and involving Lebanon in the troubles of Syria's civil war.

It's not clear what effect the destruction of the Syrian economy has had on Lebanon. But it appears that the Syrian crisis has been outsourced to Lebanon, with Syria using Lebanon as an outlet for its problems as Damascus increasingly came under US and other sanctions.

This is a reversal from the period when Syria sent its army to occupy Lebanon. In those days, Syria was ostensibly the stronger player. But after 2005, when Syria left in the wake of Hezbollah assassinating former prime minister Rafic Hariri, things went from bad to worse.

Hezbollah launched a war against Israel in 2006 and then fought street fights with the opposition in Beirut in 2008. Eventually, Hezbollah robbed Lebanon of a functioning presidency and...