US House of Representatives imposes new sanctions on Lebanon’s Hezbollah

Supporters of the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah march in a southern suburb of Beirut on October 1, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The US House of Representatives has endorsed new sanctions on the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah.

The new sanctions were passed by voice vote, without opposition on Wednesday on the pretext of the resistance group’s “acts of death and destruction.”

This is while Hezbollah has played a major role in battling Daesh Takfiri terrorists near the Lebanese border with Syria.

“These critical measures will impose new sanctions to crack down on Hezbollah’s financing, and hold it accountable for its acts of death and destruction,” said Representative Ed Royce, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Ed Royce speaks at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, October 23, 2017 in Washington, DC.

The lower chamber of the US Congress is set to introduce new sanctions against Iran on Thursday over Tehran’s missile program.

Iran maintains that its tests are solely for defense purposes, and that its missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads.

Speaking from the White House earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said he would not recertify that Tehran is complying with the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The president is required by US law to certify every 90 days whether or not Iran is complying with the nuclear deal. He has certified the deal twice since coming to office.

The US Congress has 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions against Tehran, removed under the accord.