Vakkas Doğantekin
01 August 2019•Update: 02 August 2019
ANKARA
A dozen of Republican U.S. congressmen urged Germany in a letter to designate Iran-backed Hezbollah a terrorist group, according to Israeli daily Jerusalem Post.
"We urge your government to take a profound step in the war against terrorism... And eliminate the artificial distinction between Hezbollah's military and political branches," said the letter to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
Hezbollah’s military branch is outlawed in Germany, whereas its political entity is not.
"There can be no dialogue with a terrorist organization... We urge the Federal Republic [of Germany] to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization in its entirety," the letter concluded.
In June, there was another attempt by the U.S. when four members of the U.S. House of Representatives -- two Democrats and two Republicans -- called on German leader Angela Merkel to designate Hezbollah a terrorist group.
On Wednesday, Germany turned down a U.S. request to contribute to a U.S.-led military mission to patrol the waters of the Persian Gulf.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer confirmed that the U.S. had recently presented its plans for the mission, but the German government had some reservations.
The U.S., which has designated the entire organization of Hezbollah a terrorist organization along with the U.K and the United Arab Emirates, sanctioned two Hezbollah representatives in Lebanon's parliament, as well as a top Hezbollah security official early July.
Argentina has recently become the first Latin American country to designate Hezbollah a terrorist group.
Hezbollah currently represents about one-tenth of the Lebanese Parliament's 128 seats.
