On Thursday, the Argentine authorities ordered a freeze on Hezbollah’s assets in the country, and designated the Lebanese group, which it blames for two attacks on its soil, as a terrorist organization.
This announcement coincided with the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the country, to attend a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA) building on July 18, 1994, which killed 85 people. Argentina accused Hezbollah and Iran of being behind this attack, which they denied links to.
This designation comes ten days after the United States imposed sanctions on two Lebanese lawmakers belonging to Hezbollah for accusing them of “exploiting the Lebanese political and financial system for the benefit of their party and Iran that supports it.”
This is the first punishment targeting MPs from the party, according to the US Treasury Department in a statement.
On May 16 last year, the United States, in partnership with Saudi Arabia, imposed sanctions on five people from Hezbollah, including its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his deputy, Naim Qassem, and included them on its lists of terrorism.
These sanctions came as part of a series of new measures targeting Iran and its ally Hezbollah, since US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal concluded with Tehran.
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