The US is weighing in with Lebanon's government on the selection of the country's next central bank governor in a bid to curtail corruption and illicit financing for armed group Hezbollah through Lebanon's banking system, five sources familiar with the issue said.
Washington's feedback on the candidates for the top role in shaping Lebanon's monetary policy is the latest example of the US's unusually hands-on approach to the Middle Eastern country, where a more than five-year financial crisis has collapsed the economy.
It also demonstrates the US's continued focus on weakening Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group whose sway over the Lebanese government has been reduced after the group was pummeled by Israel in last year's war.