Hezbollah Urges Lebanon’s Central Bank to Take Action, Stop Currency Collapse

TEHRAN (defapress) – Hezbollah’s second-in-command Sheikh Naim Qassem criticized the Lebanese Central Bank over a recent drop in the Arab country’s currency to record low levels against the US dollar.

News ID: 80957

Date: 29 April 2020 - 18:19

Speaking to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Shiekh Qassem blamed the decline on the “negative performance” by the bank, stressing that the Governor, Riad Salameh, was responsible “but not on his own”.

“Hezbollah’s position on the issue of the governor is clear,” Qassem said, explaining that it was “necessary to discuss the issue within the government and not in the media.”

He stressed that “appropriate action” must be taken to put the “country’s interest ahead of all else”, the Middle East Monitor reported.

The Lebanese pound slumped in October as the country’s long-standing economic issues came to a head, prompting a financial and banking crisis, which experts say are the highest risk to stability since the 1975-90 Civil War.

Locals recently reported that the Lira stood at 4,000 pounds against the US dollar.

Since October 17, Lebanon has been witnessing protests and riots, escalating political, economic, and social demands.

Anti-government protests restarted in earnest on Sunday, after a lull in activity in the first month of the coronavirus lockdown.

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