Arab League declares Lebanon's Hezbollah a "terrorist" group
The foreign ministers of the Arab League member states issued a resolution declaring Lebanon's Hezbollah a "terrorist group." Lebanon and Iraq opposed this position. The Arab League has 22 member states.
After the Gulf Cooperation Council declared Lebanon's Hezbollah a "terrorist" group, it is now the turn of the Arab League. The foreign ministers of the Arab League declared Hezbollah a "terrorist" group at their 145th meeting in Cairo on Friday (March 11).
Iran supports Lebanon's Hezbollah. The official Saudi news agency, SPA, reported the day before the Arab League meeting that a quadrilateral Arab committee (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates) has been tasked with following up on developments in the crisis with Iran and has agreed to take steps to counter "Iran's hostile policies against regional countries and Iranian interference."
Read more: Gulf Cooperation Council: Lebanon's Hezbollah is a terrorist organization
At the Cairo meeting, all Arab League member states except Lebanon and Iraq supported the Arab League's decision to designate Lebanon's Hezbollah as a terrorist group. The League had suspended Syria's membership since November 2011.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Defends Hezbollah and Popular Mobilization Forces
In his speech (March 11) at the Arab League meeting, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari criticized the Gulf Cooperation Council's decision to recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist group, saying: "Those who accuse Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilization Forces (Shiite militia forces in Iraq) of being terrorists are terrorists themselves."
Read more: Iran condemns designation of Lebanon's Hezbollah as a terrorist organization
Al-Arabiya TV, which is close to Saudi Arabia, reported: “The Iraqi Foreign Minister rejected the accusation of terrorism against Lebanon’s Hezbollah, describing it as an “Arab party.” In his speech, Ja’fari emphasized that Hezbollah and the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces have preserved the honor of the Arabs.”
According to Al-Arabiya, members of the Saudi delegation present at the Arab League meeting temporarily left the meeting venue in protest after hearing Jaafari's speech and his defense of Lebanon's Hezbollah and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and returned to the meeting after Jaafari's speech.
Saudi Arabia recently announced that it would cut off its military and security assistance to Lebanon. It was supposed to provide nearly $3 billion to the army and about $1 billion to the Lebanese Security Organization. The Saudi decision came after the Lebanese Foreign Minister did not support a resolution issued at the end of a meeting of Arab foreign ministers against Iran and in support of Saudi Arabia.
Read more: Arab League supports Saudi Arabia against Iran
Saudi Arabia's differences with Hezbollah have intensified, particularly over the group's involvement in the Syrian civil war and its support for Bashar al-Assad. Hezbollah is backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Many Arab countries are concerned about Iran's influence through Hezbollah and similar groups.
In addition to the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League, the United States, Canada, and the European Union have also classified Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
