New Sanctions Against Hezbollah Lebanon Approved by the U.S. House of Representatives

On Wednesday, October 25, the U.S. House of Representatives approved new sanctions against Hezbollah Lebanon. According to Reuters, the sanctions proposals against Hezbollah were voted on orally, and all representatives supported these proposals with no opposition. Under the first proposal approved on Wednesday, all individuals, entities, and companies that cooperate with Hezbollah in financing and recruiting will be sanctioned. The second proposal imposes sanctions on Iran and Hezbollah Lebanon for using civilians as human shields. The third proposal calls on the European Union to list Hezbollah Lebanon as a terrorist organization. The U.S. has listed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization since 1997, and the U.S. State Department also announced a reward of millions of dollars on October 10 for information leading to the arrest of two Hezbollah members. Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated that the aim of these proposals is to cut off Hezbollah's financial lifeline and hold the group accountable for its killings and destruction. He noted the increasing danger posed by Hezbollah, stating that the House's resolutions send a serious message that the U.S. will not leave this threat unanswered. Ted Deutch, a Democratic representative from Florida, also mentioned that more actions could be taken to counter Hezbollah. Previously, Nathan Sales, the U.S. State Department's Coordinator for Counterterrorism, stated, 'The Iranian government created Hezbollah and financially supports it to fuel instability throughout the region and around the world. All of this is at the expense of the Iranian people... The people of Iran and Lebanon deserve better.' This U.S. official added that some countries have only listed Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization and have taken no action against what they call the political wing. This is a mistaken distinction. Do not forget that Hezbollah has no political wing and is a terrorist organization. In this context, the Jerusalem Post and the Walla news website reported in September of this year an increase in financial aid from Iran to Hezbollah Lebanon. According to these reports, previous assessments estimated Iran's annual financial aid to Hezbollah at $200 million, but this aid has now risen to $830 million. The Israeli army also announced that seven thousand of the 22,000 Hezbollah militants fought for the survival of Bashar al-Assad's regime during four years of the nearly seven-year civil war in Syria and suffered two thousand casualties.