Lebanon PM Will Not Extend Central Bank Governor’s Mandate, Office Says

Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. (Reuters)
Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. (Reuters)
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Lebanon PM Will Not Extend Central Bank Governor’s Mandate, Office Says

Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. (Reuters)
Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. (Reuters)

Lebanon's caretaker premier Najib Mikati will not extend the term of sitting central bank governor Riad Salameh when it ends later this month, the prime minister's office said on Monday.

Salameh's term expires on July 31, bringing an end to a 30-year tenure stained by recent charges at home and abroad of embezzlement of Lebanese public funds. He denies the charges.

In a statement sent to Reuters, Mikati's office said his position was based on current legislation which stipulates that the first vice governor would assume the governor's duties until a new one is appointed.

"The most important thing is that no vacuum occurs at the central bank because it's the country's financial backbone," the statement said.

One of Lebanon's four vice governors told Reuters they were considering quitting together if no successor is named, raising the possibility of a leaderless central bank amid a deep financial crisis.

Mikati's deputy, Saade Chami, told Reuters last week that such a threat was "dangerous" and that the vice governors should "assume their responsibility in case this appointment is not possible."

Efforts to find a successor to Salameh have been hamstrung by Lebanon's breakdown in governance and intensifying political tensions. Central bank governors are typically appointed by the president, but parliament has been unable to elect one to follow Michel Aoun, whose term ended in late October.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a longtime backer of Salameh, told reporters on Monday that "necessity allows for that which is prohibited", signaling that cabinet should appoint a governor even as it operates in a caretaker capacity.

But he said he would "respect what the prime minister announced regarding neither an appointment, nor an extension."

Many Lebanese blame Salameh for Lebanon's financial collapse, alongside the long-entrenched ruling elite. Salameh says he has been scapegoated for the meltdown, which followed decades of corruption and profligate spending by politicians.

Salameh has worked hand-in-glove with the elite for years. In late 2021, Mikati signaled Salameh should remain in his post even as the graft investigations against him gained traction, saying "one does not change their officers during a war".

More recently, however, Salameh has appeared to be increasingly isolated.



Barrack Says Hezbollah Involvement in Iran-Israel War Would Be 'Very Bad Decision'

A handout photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office on June 19, 2025 shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) welcoming US negotiator Thomas Barrack at the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office on June 19, 2025 shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) welcoming US negotiator Thomas Barrack at the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
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Barrack Says Hezbollah Involvement in Iran-Israel War Would Be 'Very Bad Decision'

A handout photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office on June 19, 2025 shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) welcoming US negotiator Thomas Barrack at the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office on June 19, 2025 shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) welcoming US negotiator Thomas Barrack at the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

The US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack on Thursday warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the war between its main backer Iran and Israel.

"I can say on behalf of President (Donald) Trump... that would be a very, very, very bad decision," Barrack said, responding to a question on what the US position would be on any involvement by Hezbollah in the war.

Barrack met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at Baabda Palace and Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

Hezbollah on Thursday expressed support for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei following threats by Israeli leaders that he could be killed.

In a statement, Hezbollah said that “threats to assassinate (Khamenei) are foolish and reckless, and will have disastrous consequences.”

Israel's defense minister said that Khamenei "can no longer be allowed to exist" after an Israeli hospital was hit during an Iranian missile attack.

"Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed -- he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals. He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal," Israel Katz told journalists in Holon near Tel Aviv. "Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist."
 

Killing Khamenei would "end the conflict" between Israel and Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.