The Shiite organization Hezbollah has condemned the US for its plan to impose sanctions on the legally elected members of the Lebanese parliament.
“This is a blatant attempt to intimidate our free people, the majority of whom support the resistance forces opposing Israeli aggression“, said the statement, published on the organization's Telegram channel.
It noted that the effects of the US restrictions are “minor and not even worth the ink with which they are written“. "These measures will have no practical impact on the future work of our fellow parliamentarians and officials who reject these capitulation plans," the statement said.
According to Al Jazeera, the sanctions target members of the "Loyalty to the Resistance" bloc, Hassan Fadlallah, Ibrahim al-Moussawi and Hussein Hajj Hassan, as well as former minister Mohamed Fneish. They are accused of obstructing efforts to disarm Hezbollah and acting to the detriment of the Lebanese state.
A State Department source told Al Jazeera that "sanctions will be taken against all officials who have infiltrated government structures and collaborated with Hezbollah."