Syria, Iran, Yemen slam Germany for complying with US, Israeli dictates to ban Hezbollah

Syria, Iran and Yemen have slammed the German government’s decision to designate Hezbollah a “terrorist organization”, saying Berlin has complied with the dictates of Washington and Tel Aviv to ban the resistance movement.

“The Syrian Arab Republic condemns Berlin’s blacklisting of Hezbollah with utmost vigor,” a Syrian Foreign Ministry source told state news agency SANA on Thursday.

The source said the blacklisting was a “medal of honor” which effectively acknowledged Hezbollah’s prominent role in countering Zionist and Western plots in the region.

The source said the move clearly demonstrated Germany’s submission to “world Zionism” and the country’s continued lack of sovereignty and independence ever since the end of World War II.

On Thursday, Germany designated Hezbollah as a “terrorist group” and ordered raids on various mosques and cultural sites allegedly linked to the resistance movement.

Police raided four mosque associations in Dortmund and Muenster in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen and Berlin, along with private homes of alleged Hezbollah members.

Israel and the United States had been pushing Berlin to ban the resistance movement which is credited with helping defeat the most violent Takfiri and other terrorist groups in Syria and driving out Israeli troops from southern Lebanon. 

The resistance movement's popularity for shattering Israel's myth of invincibility among the Arab public opinion has worried Israel and the West. Its military engagement in the Syria war has also turned it into a seasoned force, forcing many Western observers to describe Hezbollah as the most powerful Arab "army".  

Iran said Germany must be held to account for the “consequences” its decision will have for the fight against terrorism in the region.

German blacklisting of Hezbollah only serves Israel interests: Iran

Iran has strongly condemned Germany for blacklisting Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance group, warning Berlin that the move could have consequences for the fight against terrorism.

Last December, Germany's parliament approved a motion urging Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to ban all activities by Hezbollah on German soil.

It came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on a trip to Berlin last year that he hoped Germany would follow Britain in banning Hezbollah. 

Britain introduced legislation in February of last year that classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

‘Germany blindly following destructive US, Israeli plots’

Yemen’s government and the country’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement also condemned the measure as a sign of Berlin’s submission to Washington and Tel Aviv.

“This unjust decision by Germany took place in compliance with US and Israeli dictates targeting the group,” Yemen’s Information Minister and Government spokesperson Dhaifallah al-Shami said, according to the Saba news agency.

Ansarullah’s political bureau published a statement saying that “Germany’s decision has fulfilled US and Israeli wishes in normalizing Zionism and opposing the free nations which seek to resist global tyranny and arrogance”.

Ansarullah has been battling a five-year Saudi Yemen war, heavily supported by Western states such as Germany. The popular group reiterated its support for Hezbollah and urged Arab and Muslim countries to reject Berlin’s decision.

Germany has long been known for its controversial support for terrorists and oppressive forces in the region, most recently facilitating terrorist presence and foreign-backed terrorism in Syria and Iraq.

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The Syrian president has slammed European countries for their role in creating chaos in the Arab country.

It is responsible along with other European states for allowing extremists from across Europe to join Daesh in 2014 with the aim of toppling the Syrian government.

The German government has also been accused of helping the US assassinate Iran's top anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani earlier this year.

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Berlin has been a longtime backer of Israel, providing billions of dollars in aid enabling the occupation of Palestine in the name of reparations for Jewish persecution by the Nazi Germany.

Also during the 1980-1988 imposed war against Iran, Germany was among the countries providing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with blueprints and material needed to build chemical weapons used indiscriminately against Iranian civilians and troops.

Germany has been a longtime safe haven and supporter of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) which has killed thousands of innocent Iranians.

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The US-backed Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) is notorious for its numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials.

On Thursday, Israel was effusive in its praise of Germany, with the regime's foreign minister Israel Katz hailing the blacklisting as a "very important decision".

"I call on other European countries as well as the European Union to do the same," Katz said in a statement.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also welcomed the decision. "All peace-loving countries should reject terrorist organizations and provide them with no direct or indirect assistance," he said.

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