Hezbollah

Hezbollah is a radical Shia group ideologically inspired by the Iranian revolution. Its goals are the “liberation” of Jerusalem, the destruction of Israel, and, ultimately, the establishment of a revolutionary Shia Islamic state in Lebanon, modelled after Iran. Formed in 1982 in response to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, Hezbollah carried out some of the most infamous terror attacks of the Lebanese civil war, such as the suicide bombings of the barracks of United States Marines and French paratroopers in Beirut, as well as the hijacking of TWA Flight 847. While all other Lebanese militias disarmed at the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990, Hezbollah continued to fight, waging a guerilla war against Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon. Following Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah attacks against Israeli forces continued, concentrated on the disputed Shebaa Farms area. In 2006, Hezbollah provoked Israel’s invasion of Lebanon by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing 8 others. On January 3, 2018, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced that the group was working “to obtain all kinds of weapons that would enable it to achieve victory in the next war.” In September 2019, Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles into a small farming community along the Lebanese border with Israel.

Further Background:

Formal designations of  Hezbollah as a terrorist organization:

  • Arab League – Designated in March 2016 [“Clarification”, July 2024]
  • Argentina – First listed on 18 Jul 2019.
  • Australia – First listed in its entirety on 10 Dec 2021 (it’s External Security Organization has been listed since 5 Jun 2003).
  • Austria – First listed on May 2021.
  • Bahrain – First listed on 9 Apr 2013.
  • Canada – First listed on 10 Dec 2002.
  • Colombia – Designated on 20 Jan 2020.
  • Czech Republic – First listed on 28 Oct 2020.
  • Estonia – Sanctions imposed on 22 Oct 2020.
  • Germany – First listed on 30 Apr 2020.
  • Guatemala – First listed on 23 Oct 2020.
  • Gulf Cooperation Council—designated  on 2 Mar 2016. The GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
  • Honduras – Designated on 6 Jan 2020.
  • Israel – First listed on 22 Jun 1989  (Terrorist List – entry “27” near bottom).
  • Kosovo – Designated in its entirety on 23 Jun 2020.
  • Latvia – Designated in its entirety on 30 Nov 2020.
  • Lithuania – Entry of Hezbollah affiliates banned on 13 Aug 2020.
  • Netherlands – Designated in 2004.
  • Paraguay – On 9 Aug 2019, President Abdo Benitez signed Decree No. 2307/2019, designating Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qa’ida, and ISIS as terrorist organizations. 
  • Serbia – Designated on 13 Sep 2020.
  • Slovenia – First listed on 30 Nov 2020.
  • United Kingdom – Banned in its entirety 0n 1 Mar 2019; the military wing was previously banned in 2008.
  • United States – First listed by Treas. Dept. on 25 Jan 1995, and by State Dept. on 8 Oct 1997.
    • On 19 May 2022, the Treas. Dept. designated Ahmad Jalal Reda Abdallah, a Lebanese businessman and Hizballah financial facilitator, as well as five of his associates and eight of his companies in Lebanon and Iraq. (Press Release)
    • On 25 May 2022, the Treas. Dept. designated an oil smuggling network generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the Iranian Qods Force and Hezb0llah. (Press Release)

“Military wing” designated as terrorist:

 

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