Al-Aawsat - Lebanese Health Minister Jamil Jabak has said that Lebanon can no longer import pharmaceuticals from Iran after the US sanctions on Iran.

During a news conference he held on Friday to brief the public on his recent trip to Geneva where he attended the World Health Organization�s World Health Assembly, the minister said US sanctions meant it was easier for Lebanon to import pharmaceuticals from Europe instead.

�If we decided to import the medicine from Iran, there will be no way to pay and do business,� he said.

Asked whether the standstill in Iranian medicine imports was a result of US pressure on his ministry, Jabak, who is affiliated with Hezbollah, replied that the issue concerned the Lebanese state as a whole and not just the health ministry.

�We belong to the Lebanese Republic and work for the Lebanese people,� Jabak said.

�We in the Health Ministry do not set public policy in the Lebanese state. The cabinet sets this policy. We are committed to the decision taken by government,� he added in response to a question on whether the ministry would distance itself from Iran.