Antoun el-Fata, “Akhbar al-Yawm” agency

Lebanon's reconstruction after war: Will Lebanon benefit from Iran's frozen funds?

 Abu Suleiman: Such a step could involve us in additional political conflicts

Ukraine has succeeded in mobilizing European support, and the European Union has agreed to use the net profits from the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia to support Ukraine's reconstruction and self-defense.

The interest generated by frozen Russian assets has begun to be used to support loans to Ukraine in the billions of dollars, which is a fair step by the description of Ukrainians, proceeding from the fact that it was Russia that caused the destruction of their country.

What about Lebanon? And what about the Iranian wars that have been going on in its territory for decades?

In the face of this reality, is it possible to mobilize domestic and external support as part of attempts to deduct percentages of frozen Iranian assets as a result of the sanctions imposed on Tehran, in order to use them in the reconstruction of what was ruined by the wars in Lebanon, and to strengthen the situation of the Lebanese economy collapsed due to Iranian policies?

Economist Dr. Walid Abu Suleiman explained that "in the case of the European Union and Ukraine, we find that the latter is somewhat affiliated with Europe, even if it is not an official member of the Union now. What unites Kiev with the countries of the union is a political, strategic and geopolitical alliance, while Europe is the first supporter of the Ukrainians. Ukraine has also submitted an application to join the European Union, and therefore it is practically part of Europe".

He says in an interview with the "Akhbar al-Yawm" agency that "Lebanon is not in a relationship of this level, neither with Iran, nor with any of the parties who freeze Iranian assets, nor with the European Union or NATO in general. Therefore, Lebanon cannot rely on any balanced body to raise and discuss such topics".

Abu Suleiman warned that "if the Iranians deduct from their frozen funds, for example, for the benefit of Lebanon, such a step could involve us in additional and new political conflicts (some will welcome this step on the one hand, and others will say that we do not accept that (Iran) finances anything at the level of reconstruction, on the other hand). Therefore, the Lebanese situation is completely different from the Ukrainian one.

"Iranian aid has been rejected before, so we don't know to what extent Iran's entry on the reconstruction line in Lebanon can be acceptable, or not", he added.

He concluded: "Even dealing with this file as a matter of justice and fairness is not quite simple. Each internal party sees justice and fairness from its own point of view. Some parties believe that Israel destroyed Lebanon, while others say that "Hezbollah" was the cause of the outbreak of the war, and that it should bear the responsibility for reconstruction. Therefore, the issue does not stand only at Iran, nor only at its frozen assets".