Iran condemns Britain’s move to enlist Hezbollah as a terror group

Tabnak – In a controversial move, the British government has recently listed Lebanese Hezbollah’s political wing as a terrorist group. Reacting to the move, Iran criticized London, saying that the Lebanese organization has been effectively fighting terrorism. Hezbollah officials themselves have also condemned the decision.

Iran has condemned Britain’s recent move in blacklisting Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah as a terrorist group, warning London that such measures won’t harm the group’s resolve to fight “terrorism and Zionism.”

“Hezbollah, as a victim of Zionist and Takfiri terrorism…. has been a pillar and main force of the war against terrorism and terror outfits like Daesh (ISIS) and their defeat in the region,” Bahram Qassemi, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters on Saturday.

Underlining Hezbollah’s strong support among the people of Lebanon and its strong representation in the country’s political process, Qassemi denounced London’s move as a “mistake.”

He said Iran recognized Hezbollah as a legal organization that helped keep Lebanon secure and viewed Britain’s outlawing of the group as a move that “ignored the rights of a vast part of a nation.”

“This signifies the UK’s deliberate disregard for a large number of Lebanese people and Hezbollah’s legitimacy and legal standing in Lebanon’s political and administrative structure,” Qassemi continued.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s second-in-command Sheikh Naim Qassem also condemned the British government, saying that London itself is a sponsor of terrorism.

“Britain, itself, is one of the backers of terrorism and a member of alliances that invade regional nations,” Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a speech in the Lebanese city of Baalbek on Friday. The British government is not entitled to determine who should be listed as terrorist, the Hezbollah official added.

Britain’s move to include Hezbollah on the terrorism list, which is condemned, indicates that the country is seeking to revive “its dark history of colonialism”, he went on to say.

Separately, Hezbollah issued a statement "strongly rejecting" the recent British decision. “Hezbollah strongly rejects the condemned British decision to include Hezbollah on what is called the ‘terrorist organizations list,’ and stresses that Hezbollah is a resistance movement against Israeli occupation,” read the Friday statement.

The statement stressed that nothing would stop Hezbollah from defending the country’s independence and freedom from “Israeli greed” in Lebanon’s "land, resources and territorial waters." The party added that the move showed “servile obedience” to the United States, Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper reported.

“The British government, in this decision, insulted the sentiments and the free will of the Lebanese people, who consider Hezbollah such a political and popular force that they granted it big representation in Parliament and Cabinet,” read the statement.

Earlier this week, the UK proscribed the Lebanese Shiite group’s political wing as a terrorist organization, after previously distinguishing it from its military branch. Apparently, Britain has become increasingly angered by Hezbollah’s role in an anti-militancy campaign in Syria, where London has for the past eight years supported terrorist groups opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.