US, Gulf allies slap new sanctions on Hezbollah

Dubai: The United States and its Arab Gulf allies imposed additional sanctions on Hezbollah on Wednesday, targeting resistance groups two top leaders, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his deputy, Sheykh Naim Qassem.

The sanctions were imposed jointly by Washington and members of the so-called Terrorist Financing and Targeting Center (TFTC), including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The fresh round of sanctions came a week after Hezbollah emerged victorious in the Lebanese parliamentary elections and at a time when its fighters are on the threshold of an outright victory over Daesh and Al-Nusra front in neighboring Syria where they are assisting Syrian army in its war on terror.

Wednesday's sanctions targeted members of the primary decision-making body of Hezbollah, Treasury said in a statement.

"By targeting Hezbollah's Shoura Council, our nations collectively rejected the false distinction between a so-called 'Political Wing' and Hezbollah's global terrorist plotting," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

A number of other individuals and firms, which are said to be affiliated with Hezbollah, were also hit with bans.

Shura Council is the primary decision-making body of the resistance movement. It is comprised of 12 members who are tasked with making the group's tactical decisions and oversee its activities countrywide.

The move expands US sanctions against Nasrallah, who was sanctioned by Washington in 1995 for threatening to disrupt the Middle East peace process and again in 2012 over Syria. It is, however, the first time that the US Treasury has acted against Qassem, who is being listed for his ties to Hezbollah.

It was the third round of sanctions announced by Washington since the United States pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal last week.

Apart from Nasrallah and Qasim, the senior Hezbollah members designated by the seven governments on Wednesday are Muhammad Yazbak, a military commander and head of Hezbollah's judicial council; Husayn al-Khalil, Nasrallah's political advisor; and Ibrahim al-Amin al-Sayyid, head of Hezbollah's political council.

Meanwhile Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif lashed out at Saudi Arabia for targeting a group widely seen as the bulwark against Israel in Lebanon.

In doing so, he suggested that the US Arab allies have abandoned the anti-Israel cause by acting against Israel's arch enemy, Hezbollah, at a time when Muslims should be focusing on the Palestinians in Gaza.

"Israeli snipers shoot over 2,000 unarmed Palestinian protesters on a single day," Zarif tweeted. "Saudi response, on eve of Ramadan? Collaboration with its U.S. patron to sanction the first force to liberate Arab territory and shatter the myth of Israeli invincibility. Shame upon shame."

On Tuesday, the US imposed sanctions on Iran's central bank governor and an Iraq-based bank for "moving millions of dollars" for Iran's Revolutionary Guard.The TFTC was established during President Trump's visit to Riyadh a year ago, when he and the Saudis co-hosted two summits that shone a spotlight on growing influence of Iran in the region.