Jan 2013", "Bulgaria: Hezbollah behind Burgas attack", Tel Aviv Diary: Netanyahu Loses His Security Edge, "New Evidence Points to Hezbollah in Hariri Murder", "Nasrallah: Israel used secret agent to turn Lebanon gov't against Hezbollah", "Lebanon PM: UN must probe claims of Israeli complicity in Hariri murder", "Hariri murder: UN tribunal issues arrest warrants", "Hezbollah leader Nasrallah rejects Hariri indictments", "US adds Hezbollah to Syria sanctions list", "Drone flight over Israel: Nasrallah's latest surprise", "Hezbollah uses its military power in a contradictory manner", "Hezbollah fighters, Syrian rebels killed in border fighting", "Hezbollah condemned for 'attack on Syrian villages'", "Baalbek figures urge Hezbollah to stop fighting in Syria", "Syrian rebels claim successful attack on Hezbollah", "March 14, PSP slam Hezbollah activities in Syria", "Hezbollah fighters dying in Syria will go to hell, Tufaili", "Rival Lebanese groups fighting in Syria: Jumblatt", "Morsi cuts Egypt's Syria ties, condemns Hezbollah", "Hezbollah Aids Syrian Military In a Key Battle", "Hezbollah chief says group is fighting in Syria", "Iran is fighting on the Iraqi government's side", "The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook", "Hezbollah Smuggled Tons of Cocaine into the U.S. During Obama Administration, Report Reveals", "Hezbollah drug cartels in Latin America target GCC states", "Iran, Hezbollah mine Latin America for revenue, recruits, analysts say", "Lebanon Is Protecting Hezbollah's Cocaine Trade in Latin America", "Worldwide drug trafficking ring 'links Hezbollah to Latin American cartels, "Interpol detecta actividades ilícitas de Hezbollah en Colombia", "Argentine authorities nab terror cell funneling money to Hezbollah", "Hezbollah in South America: The Threat to Businesses", "Hezbollah Said to Be Laundering Money in South American Tri-Border Region", "Hezbollah, Al Ahbash chiefs meet over Borj Abi Haidar incident", "Abduction of Sheikh Obeid, Security Council Resolution 638", "Hezbollah's most wanted commander killed in Syria bomb", "Slain Hezbollah honcho held key role in drone program", "Masses chant 'Death to Israel' at funeral for Hezbollah commander slain in alleged Israeli strike", "Hezbollah fighters killed in Israeli attack", "Hezbollah mourns fighters killed in attack", "Breaking: Israel kills Hezbollah commander in airstrike over Damascus", "Leading Hezbollah commander and key Israel target killed in Syria", "Hezbollah blames insurgent shelling for death of top commander in Syria", "Hezbollah chief condemns Paris attacks - Video", "US warns Hezbollah may strike in Europe", "Hezbollah could hit Europe at any time, with no warning", "Hezbollah may strike in Europe at any time: US", "A Lebanese fragment: two days with Hizbollah. Throughout, however, Hezbollah’s leadership emphasized the permanence of the Letter and its principles, particularly adherence to Wilayat al-Faqih. [352] In April 2020 Germany designated the organization - including its political wing - as a terrorist organization, and banned any activity in support of Hezbollah.[353]. The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group on Friday indicated his support for a dialogue between Iran one one side and the U.S. and Saudi Arabia on the other. Specially Designated Terrorist lists. [114][115][116] In addition, during its 2006 war, it apologized only for killing Israel's Arabs (i.e., non-Jews). Hezbollah currently operates at least four hospitals, twelve clinics, twelve schools and two agricultural centres that provide farmers with technical assistance and training. [422], A day before the move by the Arab League, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah said that "Saudi Arabia is angry with Hezbollah since it is daring to say what only a few others dare to say against its royal family". The developing narrative in certain policy circles and among Israeli officials is that Lebanon and Hezbollah are now the same, and any distinction between them is purely artificial. If Assad was correct in his assessment that Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah was a genuine Lebanese political actor and not a representative of Iran, there would be nothing to prevent Nasrallah now from urging the Lebanese government to propose peace talks with Israel. ", "Urge President Chirac to Block Hezbollah's Antisemitic and Hate TV from broadcasting into France", "Hezbollah Pressures School Into Dropping 'Anne Frank. [410] The European Union, New Zealand, the United Kingdom,[347] and Australia[356] have proscribed Hezbollah's military wing, but do not list Hezbollah as a whole as a terrorist organization. [270] The Consultative Gathering, a group of Shia and Sunni leaders in Baalbek-Hermel, also called on Hezbollah not to "interfere" in Syria. They accused Hezbollah of acting on behalf of Iran and Syria. Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah commander Ibrahim al-Hajj was reported killed in action near Mosul. Hezbollah played a significant role in the Lebanese civil war, opposing American forces in 1982–83 and opposing Amal and Syria during the 1985–88 War of the Camps. [323], In 2010, a survey of Muslims in Lebanon showed that 94% of Lebanese Shia supported Hezbollah, while 84% of the Sunni Muslims held an unfavorable opinion of the group. An FSA spokesman said, "Hezbollah's invasion is the first of its kind in terms of organisation, planning and coordination with the Syrian regime's air force". [69] Amal, the main Lebanese Shia political group, initiated guerrilla warfare. Additionally, Iran has reportedly built up Hezbollah’s cyberwarfare capabilities. [325] Crowds in Cairo shouted out against Iran and Hezbollah, at a public speech by Hamas President Ismail Haniya in February 2012, when Hamas changed its support to the Syrian opposition. "[249], In July 2012, a Lebanese man was detained by Cyprus police on possible charges relating to terrorism laws for planning attacks against Israeli tourists. [411] Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have condemned Hezbollah's actions, saying that "the Arabs and Muslims can't afford to allow an irresponsible and adventurous organization like Hezbollah to drag the region to war" and calling it "dangerous adventurism",[412], After an alleged 2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, the Egyptian regime of Hosni Mubarak officially classified Hezbollah as a terrorist group. [194], Hezbollah has a military branch known as the Jihad Council,[26] one component of which is Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya ("The Islamic Resistance"), and is the possible sponsor of a number of lesser-known militant groups, some of which may be little more than fronts for Hezbollah itself, including the Organization of the Oppressed, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, the Organization of Right Against Wrong, and Followers of the Prophet Muhammad. Since 2011, Hezbollah also spearheaded the effort to defend Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime, whose downfall would pose a strategic threat to Tehran, not least of all by severing its land-link to Lebanon. "If it’s a choice between the CIA and the Iranians, they’ll take the Iranians any day." ", Hezbollah: Background and Issues for Congress, "EU Listing of Hezbollah: Inevitable Decision with Unpredictable Consequences", "UK urges EU to classify Hezbollah military wing as terrorist group. Unlike its uncompromising revolutionary stance in the 1980s, Hezbollah conveyed a lenient stance towards the Lebanese state. [234], The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel. ", "Man detained in Cyprus was planning attack on Israeli targets for Hezbollah", "PMO: Iran connected to Hezbollah activity in Cyprus", "Bulgaria blames Hezbollah in bomb attack on Israeli tourists,", "Israel unlikely to retaliate after Bulgaria report. Since 1990, terror acts and attempts of which Hezbollah has been blamed include the following bombings and attacks against civilians and diplomats: Hezbollah provided fighters to fight on the Bosnian Muslim side during the Bosnian War, as part of the broader Iranian involvement. Hezbollah is ultimately linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is perhaps its most successful creation. "Terrorism.". At Tehran’s behest, the group created Unit 3800 in 2003 to train and assist Iraqi Shiite militias fighting against US and multinational forces. [32] A contingent of 1,500 pasdaran instructors arrived after the Syrian government, which occupied Lebanon's eastern highlands, permitted their transit to a base in the Bekaa valley.[33]. For these reasons, they justify their actions as acts of defensive jihad. [326], Hezbollah's status as a legitimate political party, a terrorist group, a resistance movement, or some combination thereof is a contentious issue. [241] The conflict is believed to have killed 1,191–1,300 Lebanese citizens including combatants[242][243][244][245][246] and 165 Israelis including soldiers. Hezbollah leader backs Iran talks with US, Saudi Arabia. [5], On 16 February 1985, Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin issued Hezbollah's manifesto. ", "Cigarette Smuggling Linked to Terrorism", "US Treasury takes action against Hezbollah funders", "Hezbollah denies drugs and money laundering claims", Iran pays Hezbollah $700 million a year, US official says, Hezbollah paying the price of Iranian obstinance, "Treasury Targets Hizballah in Venezuela", "The Militarization of Sex: The story of Hezbollah's halal hookups." ", "Anti-Semitic Series Airs on Arab Television. by Jeffrey Goldberg", "Anne Dammarell et al. The opposition-seized areas were then handed over to the Lebanese Army. [153] On 22 March 2018, Nasrallah issued a statement outlining the main priorities for the parliamentary bloc of the party, Loyalty to the Resistance, in the next parliament. [25], In 2018 Lebanese general election, Hezbollah general secretary Hassan Nasrallah presented the names of the 13 Hezbollah candidates. Hezbollah, now virtually unrivaled, set about filling the state’s void and neglect in caring for Lebanese Shiites, establishing schools, hospitals and other social institutions for the once-impoverished community. [233] The bodies of the slain soldiers were exchanged for Lebanese prisoners in 2004. Sheikh Fadlallah typically insists ... that Jews wish to undermine or obliterate Islam and Arab cultural identity in order to advance their economic and political domination. It therefore began providing the group with a steady stream of financial support which has continued to the present day. On the day of the act's introduction, Congressman Darrell Issa said, "Hezbollah is a terrorist group and a cancer on Lebanon. Hezbollah then launched more rockets into northern Israel and engaged the Israel Defense Forces in guerrilla warfare from hardened positions. [146] It holds 14 of the 128 seats in the Parliament of Lebanon and is a member of the Resistance and Development Bloc. Hezbollah's condemnation of murder of civilians in Egypt and Algeria is described in Saad-Ghorayeb, p. 101. "[404] Germany does not maintain its own list of terrorist organizations, having chosen to adopt the common EU list. Page 140, Third World Quarterly, Vol 14, No 2, 1993, reprinted at Al Mashriq, Reuters, 12 September 2006; Al-Hayat (London), 13 September 2006. [33] Several Western countries officially classify Hezbollah or its external security wing as a terrorist organization, and some of their violent acts have been described as terrorist attacks. [24][89] Although Hezbollah originally aimed to transform Lebanon into a formal Faqihi Islamic republic, this goal has been abandoned in favor of a more inclusive approach. [48], Since 1990, Hezbollah has participated in Lebanese politics, in a process which is described as the Lebanonisation of Hezbollah, and it later participated in the government of Lebanon and joined political alliances. [202], In 2009, the Resistance Brigades were reactivated, mainly comprising Sunni supporters from the southern city of Sidon. Its 1985 Open Letter called the secular republic the “product of an arrogance so unjust that no reform or modification can remedy it.” The group thus refused any cooperation with the Lebanese state that did not cause “fundamental changes in the system’s roots,” replacing it with an Islamic republic on the Iranian model. [88], United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 called for the disarmament of militia[195] with the Taif agreement at the end of the Lebanese civil war. [264], In 2012, Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon and took over eight villages in the Al-Qusayr District of Syria. [279] The investigation by the DEA found that Hezbollah made about a billion dollars a year and trafficked thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. v. Islamic Republic of Iran", "Everyone casting suspicious eye on Iraq's Hezbollah. Congress members Tom Lantos, Jim Saxton, Thad McCotter, Chris Shays, Charles Boustany, Alcee Hastings, and Robert Wexler referred to Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in their speeches supporting the legislation. In 1982, Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran primarily to harass the Israeli invasion of Lebanon . According to Wege, Amn al-Muddad "may have received specialized intelligence training in Iran and possibly North Korea". Hezbollah has also been the target of bomb attacks and kidnappings. However, Hezbollah is aiding the Houthis because they are fighting Tehran’s rival Riyadh, and control of Red Sea shipping and the Bab al-Mandeb straits would weaken the kingdom. [426], In August 2008, Lebanon's cabinet completed a policy statement which recognized "the right of Lebanon's people, army, and resistance to liberate the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, Kafar Shuba Hills, and the Lebanese section of Ghajar village, and defend the country using all legal and possible means. However, it remains unclear how Hezbollah is acquiring the materials and domestically producing the sophisticated components necessary to manufacture these advanced missiles, as the Iranians themselves have difficulty in doing so at home. Western sources maintain that Hezbollah actually receives most of its financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria. In 2008, Hezbollah even turned its weapons on the Lebanese and invaded Beirut when the government moved to shut down the group’s telecommunications network and remove Beirut Airport’s pro-Hezbollah security chief. "[306], In August 2012, the United States State Department's counter-terrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin warned that Hezbollah may attack Europe at any time without any warning. By contrast, Hezbollah’s allies include China, Russia and Syria – the latter having militarily occupied Lebanon for 35 years and even violently repressed the group during the 1980s. [172]:776 In 2009, Hezbollah apprehended Marwan Faqih, a garage owner who installed tracking devices in Hezbollah-owned vehicles. [425] "[121] After the death of Iran's first Supreme Leader, Khomeini, Hezbollah's governing bodies developed a more "independent role" and appealed to Iran less often. [138][139], The United States has accused members of the Venezuelan government of providing financial aid to Hezbollah.[140]. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the report "further corroboration of what we have already known, that Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons are orchestrating a worldwide campaign of terror that is spanning countries and continents.