The move comes on the heels of Saudi Arabia’s decision to halt $4 billion in military aid to Lebanon due to its domination by Iran through Hezbollah, as well as Saudi government warnings to its citizens not to travel to Lebanon.
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According to GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani in a statement, the declaration is a response to hostile acts carried out by Hezbollah within the member states.
The aim of Saudi policy was to force Lebanese to confront Hezbollah to force it to retreat “even if this leads to strife in Lebanon, the collapse of the government in Lebanon, to a civil war in Lebanon”, Nasrallah said.
The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
Ties between Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbors have been strained by suspicions that Tehran is trying to extend its influence into Arab countries including Lebanon, Bahrain, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Supporters of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah wave party flags as they listen to him during a rally in Beirut’s southern suburbs on February 16.
“We are proud of Lebanon’s Hezbollah as the vanguard of resistance against the Zionist regime and the champion of the fight against terrorism in the region”, Amir-Abdollahian said.
The six-nation (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council on Wednesday officially added Hezbollah and all groups affiliated to its so-called list of “terrorist” organizations. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations with Iran earlier this year after protesters angry over the kingdom’s execution of influential Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr set fire to the Saudi Embassy and another diplomatic mission inside Iran.
Damascus strongly condemned Wednesday a Gulf Cooperation Council resolution that labeled Hizbullah a “terrorist” organization, noting that it reflects “Saudi confusion”.
Tasnim News Agency spoke with Lebanese analyst Nasser Ghandeel, who said the recent decisions by the GCC are meant to provoke Hezbollah into a direct conflict.
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On Friday, Saudi Arabia blacklisted four firms and three individuals it accused of having links to Hezbollah, the Saudi interior ministry said.
