US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on “all nations” on Saturday to classify Lebanon’s Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
The US secretary’s statement followed Britain’s action which added the Hezbollah movement to its terrorism blacklist. The UK had previously targeted the movement’s military wing, but the new sanctions classified all Hezbollah organizations and institutions under the Terrorist Asset-Freezing Act 2020 and froze all its assets.
“We call on all nations to designate Hizballah as the terrorist organization it is,” Pompeo wrote on his Twitter account.
His statement came as he marked the fifth anniversary of the murder of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman.
On this 5 year anniversary of prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s death, we remember the 1994 AMIA Jewish center attack in Buenos Aires and his tireless efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice. We call on all nations to designate #Hizballah as the terrorist organization it is.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 18, 2020
In 2004, Nisman was appointed Special Prosecutor in charge of the investigation of the 1994 terrorist attack against the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA). Two years later, Nisman formally accused the government of Iran of directing the AMIA bombing, and Hezbollah of carrying it out.
According to the prosecution, Argentina had been targeted by Iran after a decision was made to suspend a nuclear technology transfer contract to Tehran.
Following the accusation, Interpol published six names of individuals accused for their role in the attack, including senior Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh.
“We remember the 1994 AMIA Jewish center attack in Buenos Aires and his tireless efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Pompeo said.
