US sanctions Hezbollah lawmakers

ENAR

Last month, the United States designated two elected Lebanese legislators and members of Hezbollah as terrorists. This was an escalation of the US measures targeting the party, alleging that Hezbollah smuggles drugs and launders the proceeds to finance its militia and alleged terrorism activities. Little more than two years since Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri visited the White House, we have the Trump administration’s answer to the “menace” of Hezbollah: more of the same in America’s war on terror spanning nearly two decades over multiple American presidencies. In July, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the US treasury department, sanctioned two Hezbollah parliamentarians: Mohammad Raad, head of the party’s parliamentary bloc, and Amin Sherri. A third individual, Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination unit official, Wafiq Safa, was also listed. The three were designated for their alleged roles as “terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism”