August 7, 2020
Lebanon
Lebanon, a country of 5.5 million people, currently faces
Figure 1. Lebanon
the worst economic crisis in its history amid ongoing
political unrest, the spread of COVID-19, and an August
2020 explosion that severely damaged the port of Beirut.
Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees in the world
per capita (over one million, mostly Syrians), which has
raised social tensions and strained public services. U.S.
policy toward Lebanon has focused on countering the
influence of Iran and Hezbollah, and on bolstering the
capabilities of the Lebanese state—while also calling for
reforms to counter corruption and mismanagement.
Government
Lebanon’s confessional political system divides power
among its three largest religious communities (Maronite
Christian, Sunni, Shi’a), to which it allocates the posts of
president, prime minister, and parliamentary speaker,
respectively. Lebanese President Michel Aoun was elected
in 2016 by Lebanon’s parliament for a six-year term. Aoun
is affiliated with the Christian Free Patriotic Movement
(FPM), which along with Hezbollah and the Shi’a Amal
Movement comprise the major components of the March 8

political bloc. Parliamentary elections in 2018 gave the
Source: Created by CRS using ESRI, Google Maps, and Good
bloc, which advocates friendly ties with Iran and Syria, a
Shepherd Engineering and Computing.
simple majority (68 out of 128 seats). The United States has

maintained ties with March 8’s political rival, known as the
Beirut Port Explosion
March 14 bloc, which includes the Future Movement
On August 4, 2020, a massive explosion at the port of
(Sunni), the Lebanese Forces, and Kataeb (both Christian).
Beirut killed over 150 people, injured thousands, and
2019 Government Collapse
displaced 300,000 people. Lebanese officials linked the
explosion to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been
Former Prime Minister and Future Movement leader Saad
confiscated from a disabled cargo ship in 2014 and stored in
Hariri formed a government in January 2019. The 30-
a warehouse at the port. Ammonium nitrate is used as a
member Hariri cabinet was majority March 8, reflecting the
commercial explosive in mining and quarrying; it is also an
results of the 2018 legislative elections, but parties expected
additive to fertilizer. According to the government, the
to align with March 14 held 11 seats. In October 2019,
initial cause of the explosion was a welding accident at the
Hariri resigned amid mass protests against state corruption,
port. Many Lebanese viewed the blast as a reflection of
ineptitude, and economic mismanagement, triggering the
acute government negligence and mismanagement.
collapse of the government.
Extensive damage at the port—including to food storage
2020 Diab Government
facilities—is expected to exacerbate existing shortages.
In January 2020, Lebanon formed a new government under
Hezbollah
Prime Minister Hassan Diab. The 20-member Diab cabinet
Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist
is the first since 2005 composed entirely of parties from a
Organization (FTO), operates in Lebanon as a militia force,
single political bloc (March 8). Parties affiliated with
a political party, and a provider of social services. It is
March 14, which opposed Diab’s nomination on the
closely linked to Iran, which provides it with significant
grounds that he was selected by Hezbollah allies over the
funding and has used it as a proxy or allied force to threaten
objection of Lebanon’s largest Sunni party, boycotted the
Israel. While Israel withdrew in 2000 from areas of
government. The new cabinet described itself as
southern Lebanon it had occupied since 1982, Hezbollah
technocratic and most ministers are not career politicians.
has used the remaining Israeli presence in disputed areas in
However, most have ties to established political parties and
the Lebanon-Syria-Israel triborder region to justify its
may lack the ability to operate independently from party
ongoing conflict with Israel and its continued existence as
leaders. On August 3, Lebanon’s foreign minister resigned,
an armed militia alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces
stating that Lebanon was “slipping into becoming a failed
(LAF). In 2006, Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war
state,” and stating that there was an absence of will to enact
that killed over 1,200 people, mostly Lebanese.
comprehensive reforms.
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Lebanon
Hezbollah has participated in Lebanese elections since
passing a capital controls law and overhauling the state-run
1992. The group entered the cabinet for the first time in
electricity sector. (Along with debt servicing and public
2005, and has held 1 to 3 seats in each of the eight
sector salaries, subsidies to the electricity sector are a main
Lebanese governments formed since then. Hezbollah holds
government expenditure, limiting spending in other areas).
two seats in Lebanon’s current cabinet.
U.S. Policy
U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
U.S. policy in Lebanon aims to counter the influence of
In 1978, UNIFIL deployed to the Lebanon-Israel-Syria tri-
Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah, secure Lebanon’s border against
border area to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from
the flow of weapons and militant groups, and preserve
southern Lebanon and assist the Lebanese government in
domestic stability. In pursuit of these goals, the United
expanding its authority there. Following the 2006 Israel-
States has sought to strengthen the LAF, generating debate
Hezbollah war, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded via
within Congress between those who view the LAF as key to
UNSCR 1701 to include assisting the Lebanese government
countering Hezbollah and those who argue that U.S.
in establishing “an area free of any armed personnel, assets
assistance to the LAF risks falling into the hands of U.S.
and weapons other than those of the Government of
adversaries. The United States has also used targeted
Lebanon and UNIFIL” between the Blue Line [a 120 km
economic sanctions to isolate and degrade Hezbollah.
line between the two states used to confirm the Israeli
withdrawal] and the Litani River. UNIFIL describes this
U.S. Aid to Lebanon
zone as its area of operations. UNSCR 1701 calls upon
The United States is the largest provider of development,
Lebanon to secure its borders and requests that UNIFIL
humanitarian, and security assistance to Lebanon. Congress
“assist the government of Lebanon at its request.”
places several certification requirements on U.S. assistance
funds for Lebanon annually in an effort to prevent their
2020 Developments
misuse or the transfer of U.S. equipment to Hezbollah. The
Border skirmishes in late July 2020 between Hezbollah and
United States has provided more than $2 billion worth of
the Israeli military raised tensions shortly before the
assistance and materiel to the LAF since 2006.
UNIFIL mandate’s renewal (August 31). Prime Minister
Diab has accused Israel of escalating tensions to bolster a
Table 1. U.S. Bilateral Aid to Lebanon
U.S.-Israeli argument for modifying UNIFIL’s mandate to
al ocations by year of appropriation, current U.S. $ in mil ions
allow for the search of private property in southern
Lebanon. The United States and Israel have accused
FY17
FY18
FY19
FY20
FY21
Hezbollah of hiding weapons in violation of UNSCR 1701.
actual
actual
actual
enacted
request

Economic Crisis
ESF/ESDF 110.00 117.00 112.50 112.50
62.20
Lebanon in 2020 faces overlapping currency, debt, fiscal,
and banking crises. The Lebanese pound, pegged to the
FMF
80.00 105.00 105.00 105.00
50.00
dollar, has lost roughly 80% of its value in black-market
IMET
2.65
3.12
2.97
2.97
3.00
trading since October 2019. Inflation is estimated to be
52.6%, crossing the threshold into hyperinflation. In March
INCLE
10.00 10.00
10.00 10.00
6.20
2020, Lebanon defaulted on its foreign debt for the first
NADR
5.76
10.82
11.82 11.82
11.76
time in its history; the country’s public debt (estimated at
over 170% of GDP) is among the highest in the world. In
Total
208.41 245.94 242.29 242.29
133.16
June, the Economist Intelligence Unit forecast that the
Source: Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related
economy will contract by 12% in 2020, while the budget
Programs Congressional Budget Justifications (FY2017-FY2021), P.L.
deficit widens to 14% of GDP.
116-94, and CRS calculations and rounding.
Lebanon’s economic crisis has had a severe impact on the
U.S. Sanctions
country’s population. Food prices and unemployment have
Lebanon depends heavily on imports, three-quarters of
soared; residents experience daily power cuts for up to 12
which come through the port of Beirut. In July, Lebanon
hours a day outside Beirut. In April 2020, the government
reportedly sought exemptions from the Caesar Syria
estimated that about 48% of the population was living in
Civilian Protection Act in order to import electricity and
poverty and predicted that poverty levels could hit 60% by
agricultural products from Syria, as well as to transport
the end of 2020. Hospitals have struggled to pay staff and
goods through Syria to reach regional markets. U.S.
secure imports of medical supplies; doctors warn that
officials have said that “the Assad regime is not the answer
Lebanon (with slightly over 5,000 confirmed COVID-19
to Lebanon’s electricity difficulties,” but stated that
cases in early August) is unprepared for a broader outbreak.
requests for exemptions would be reviewed. On August 6,
Pentagon officials stated that the United States was sending
In May 2020, the Lebanese government formally requested
shipments of food, water, and medical supplies to Lebanon.
a $10 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). However, talks between the government and the
CRS Research Assistant Sarah Collins contributed to this
IMF have stalled, in part due to questions about the central
bank’s financial position
InFocus.
. U.S. and European officials have
conditioned their support for an IMF program for Lebanon
Carla E. Humud, Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs
on the implementation of reforms. These could include
IF11617
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Lebanon


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