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Hezbollah said on Thursday that the new U.S. sanctions targeting members of its parliamentary bloc and Lebanese security officials were meant to support Israel after what the group described as failures in Lebanon.
In a statement, Hezbollah said the measures imposed by the U.S. State and Treasury departments were an attempt to intimidate “the free Lebanese people” and back Israeli actions against Lebanon.
The group said the sanctions were intended to give Israel a “political boost” after the failure of its actions to deter Lebanese people from exercising what Hezbollah called their legitimate right to resistance.
Hezbollah said the sanctions would have “no practical impact” on its political choices or on the functioning of its officials.
It also said targeting Lebanese officers on the eve of Lebanese-Israeli meetings at the Pentagon was an attempt to intimidate official security institutions and put the Lebanese state under U.S. pressure.
The group called on Lebanese authorities to defend the country’s constitutional, military and security institutions.
The Amal Movement, led by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, also criticized the sanctions, calling them “unacceptable and unjustified.”
Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on nine individuals it said had enabled Hezbollah to “undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
Washington also designated them for “obstructing the peace process in Lebanon and impeding the disarmament” of Hezbollah.
Those sanctioned included Hezbollah lawmakers Ibrahim al-Moussawi, Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan and Hassan Fadlallah, as well as former minister Mohammed Fneish.
The sanctions also targeted Lebanese military and security officials accused by Washington of sharing “important intelligence” with Hezbollah.
The sanctions came amid continued Israeli attacks across Lebanon despite a U.S.-mediated ceasefire that formally took effect on April 17 and was later extended until the beginning of July.
Since March 2, Israel has carried out a large-scale offensive on Lebanon that has killed 3,073 people, wounded 9,362 others and displaced more than 1.6 million, about one-fifth of the country’s population, according to Lebanese officials.
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