Dubai: The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) named Hezbollah a terrorist organisation on Wednesday, opening up the possibility of further sanctions against the Iran-allied group that wields influence in Lebanon and is fighting in Syria.
The council — representing Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar — first imposed sanctions on the group in 2013 after it entered Syria’s war in support of President Bashar Al Assad. GCC Secretary-General Abdul Latif Al Zayani said: “The GCC countries see the practices by the Hezbollah militia within the Gulf and its terrorist acts and incitement in Syria, Yemen and Iraq as against international values, moral and human principles and laws and as a threat to Arab security.”
He said the council would “take the necessary measures to implement its decision ... based on anti-terrorism laws applied in the GCC and similar international laws”.
Al Zayani did not specify what action might follow, but Saudi Arabia last week said it had blacklisted four companies and three Lebanese men for having links to Hezbollah.
Al Zayani accused Hezbollah of committing “hostile acts” against GCC states, including recruiting young men to “carry out terrorist attacks, smuggling weapons and explosives, stirring up sedition and incitement to chaos and violence”.
Individual members of the GCC have already labelled Hezbollah a terrorist group.
There was no immediate reaction from Hezbollah, but the day before the terror group leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered yet another antagonistic speech against Riyadh.
