PTI, Washington :
US President Donald Trump said Thursday all American sanctions against Iran will be in full force on November 5, as he signed into law another legislation imposing hard-hitting sanctions on Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“On November 5th, all US sanctions against Iran lifted by the nuclear deal will be back in full force, every sanction that we had on their originally, which would have-if they would have just left it a little bit longer, would have been so much easier than what we’ve been through over the last number of years,” Trump said at a White House event.
After withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal, Trump has asked all countries to reduce their purchase of oil from Iran to zero or face secondary sanctions. India, being one of the largest importers of Iranian oil, also comes under the purview of American sanctions. To avoid this, India either needs a waiver from the US or has to bring down the purchase of Iranian oil to zero.
Trump said these sanctions will be followed up with even more sanctions to address the full range of Iran’s “malign conduct”.
“We will not allow the world’s leading sponsor of terror to develop the world’s deadliest weapons. Will not happen,” he said.
Moments earlier, Trump signed into law the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act (HIFPAA) of 2018, which imposes additional hard-hitting sanctions on Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah has kidnapped, tortured, and murdered American citizens, including in its brutal attack in 1983 on our Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed 241 American Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers, wounded 128 other American service members, and killed a Lebanese civilian.
“Another bombing against the French barracks killed 58 French peacekeepers and five Lebanese civilians, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.
The legislation, Sanders said, will further isolate Hezbollah from the international financial system and reduce its funding.
Meanwhile, giant posters on the streets of Beirut’s southern Shiite suburbs display an armed Hezbollah fighter in uniform, holding the group’s yellow banner and Lebanon’s national flag, along with phone numbers where supporters can make donations to the Shiite guerrilla force.
“He who equips a warrior is part of the battle,” the posters declare, quoting a saying from Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
Hezbollah’s calls for donations have intensified in past months as the group and its main backer Iran come under increasing financial pressure under sanctions from the Trump administration.
Washington has imposed sanctions on the militant group for decades. But a new wave this year appears to be more serious about targeting Hezbollah’s top leadership as well as businessmen and companies that Washington says are funding the group.
The latest hit came Oct. 15, when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions designated Hezbollah as one of five groups considered top transnational organized crime threats.
Iran, facing its own financial crises, has also reportedly cut back on funding for Hezbollah and Shiite militias it supports in Iraq.
Iran touts itself as the leader of the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” grouping the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, Shiite militias in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shiite gunmen in Yemen known as the Houthis.
The U.S. State Department said in July that Iran has spent over $16 billion since 2012 supporting Assad and its proxies in Iraq and in Yemen, and it also gives $700 million a year to Hezbollah. It has also given the Syrian government $4 billion in lines of credit, it says.
Hezbollah’s budget has already been hurt ever since it became heavily involved in Syria’s civil war in 2013, sending fighters to back Assad’s forces and helping turn the conflict in his favor. An estimated 2,000 of its fighters have been killed and thousands more wounded, some with permanent disabilities. That only adds to the costs, since the group pays stipends to families of “martyrs” and provides health care for fighters.
Recently, its leadership started to publicly acknowledge the strain.
“I won’t say that the sanctions will not have an effect … They will have an effect for sure,” Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech in August.
He vowed the sanctions won’t diminish the group’s power. “We have the strength, infrastructure and human resources to get through these difficulties, God willing,” he said.
In a closed meeting around the same time, he told Hezbollah cadres, “We have to tighten belts a bit,” according to Ibrahim Bayram, an expert on Shiite affairs who writes about Hezbollah for Lebanon’s An-Nahar newspaper and was informed about the meeting.
The group is taking measures to reduce expenses, such as bringing down the number of fighters in Syria, especially now that Assad’s military has taken back greater territory from his opponents, Bayram told The Associated Press. But he said it was not cutting back on stipends for families, medical care and retirement payments.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday all American sanctions against Iran will be in full force on November 5, as he signed into law another legislation imposing hard-hitting sanctions on Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“On November 5th, all US sanctions against Iran lifted by the nuclear deal will be back in full force, every sanction that we had on their originally, which would have-if they would have just left it a little bit longer, would have been so much easier than what we’ve been through over the last number of years,” Trump said at a White House event.
After withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal, Trump has asked all countries to reduce their purchase of oil from Iran to zero or face secondary sanctions. India, being one of the largest importers of Iranian oil, also comes under the purview of American sanctions. To avoid this, India either needs a waiver from the US or has to bring down the purchase of Iranian oil to zero.
Trump said these sanctions will be followed up with even more sanctions to address the full range of Iran’s “malign conduct”.
“We will not allow the world’s leading sponsor of terror to develop the world’s deadliest weapons. Will not happen,” he said.
Moments earlier, Trump signed into law the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act (HIFPAA) of 2018, which imposes additional hard-hitting sanctions on Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah has kidnapped, tortured, and murdered American citizens, including in its brutal attack in 1983 on our Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed 241 American Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers, wounded 128 other American service members, and killed a Lebanese civilian.
“Another bombing against the French barracks killed 58 French peacekeepers and five Lebanese civilians, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.
The legislation, Sanders said, will further isolate Hezbollah from the international financial system and reduce its funding.
Meanwhile, giant posters on the streets of Beirut’s southern Shiite suburbs display an armed Hezbollah fighter in uniform, holding the group’s yellow banner and Lebanon’s national flag, along with phone numbers where supporters can make donations to the Shiite guerrilla force.
“He who equips a warrior is part of the battle,” the posters declare, quoting a saying from Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
Hezbollah’s calls for donations have intensified in past months as the group and its main backer Iran come under increasing financial pressure under sanctions from the Trump administration.
Washington has imposed sanctions on the militant group for decades. But a new wave this year appears to be more serious about targeting Hezbollah’s top leadership as well as businessmen and companies that Washington says are funding the group.
The latest hit came Oct. 15, when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions designated Hezbollah as one of five groups considered top transnational organized crime threats.
Iran, facing its own financial crises, has also reportedly cut back on funding for Hezbollah and Shiite militias it supports in Iraq.
Iran touts itself as the leader of the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” grouping the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, Shiite militias in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shiite gunmen in Yemen known as the Houthis.
The U.S. State Department said in July that Iran has spent over $16 billion since 2012 supporting Assad and its proxies in Iraq and in Yemen, and it also gives $700 million a year to Hezbollah. It has also given the Syrian government $4 billion in lines of credit, it says.
Hezbollah’s budget has already been hurt ever since it became heavily involved in Syria’s civil war in 2013, sending fighters to back Assad’s forces and helping turn the conflict in his favor. An estimated 2,000 of its fighters have been killed and thousands more wounded, some with permanent disabilities. That only adds to the costs, since the group pays stipends to families of “martyrs” and provides health care for fighters.
Recently, its leadership started to publicly acknowledge the strain.
“I won’t say that the sanctions will not have an effect … They will have an effect for sure,” Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech in August.
He vowed the sanctions won’t diminish the group’s power. “We have the strength, infrastructure and human resources to get through these difficulties, God willing,” he said.
In a closed meeting around the same time, he told Hezbollah cadres, “We have to tighten belts a bit,” according to Ibrahim Bayram, an expert on Shiite affairs who writes about Hezbollah for Lebanon’s An-Nahar newspaper and was informed about the meeting.
The group is taking measures to reduce expenses, such as bringing down the number of fighters in Syria, especially now that Assad’s military has taken back greater territory from his opponents, Bayram told The Associated Press. But he said it was not cutting back on stipends for families, medical care and retirement payments.
