The US Treasury placed two Hezbollah members of Lebanon's parliament on its sanctions blacklist on Tuesday – the first time Washington has taken aim at the Iran-allied group's elected politicians.
Stepping up its effort to build global pressure on the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement, the Treasury named MPs Amin Sherri and Muhammad Hasan Raad to a terror-related blacklist, saying that Hezbollah uses its parliamentary power to advance violent activities, TRT World reported.
Also placed on the blacklist was Wafiq Safa, a top Hezbollah official close to the movement's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US targeted three officials "who leverage their positions to facilitate Hezbollah and the Iranian regime's malign efforts to undermine Lebanese sovereignty."
"Any distinction between Hezbollah's political and military wings is artificial," he said.
"We call on our allies and partners to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organisation."
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