U.S. after GCC Decision on Hizbullah: Nobody Wants New Conflict
The U.S. State Department has downplayed a possible conflict in Lebanon over a decision taken by Gulf states earlier this week to designate Hizbullah a terrorist organization.
“Nobody wants new conflict, obviously. But I would let these states speak for themselves and to their decision to so designate,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday in his press briefing.
His comment came in response to a question made by a reporter whether he thought that branding Hizbullah a terrorist group by the Gulf Cooperation Council would lead to a new conflict in Lebanon.
The United States has long ago characterized Hizbullah as a terrorist group, Kirby said.
The Saudi-led bloc of six Gulf Arab nations formally branded Hizbullah a terrorist organization on Wednesday, ramping up the pressure on the party that is fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The GCC move came less than two weeks after Saudi Arabia announced it was cutting $4 billion in aid to the Lebanese army and security forces. The kingdom and other Gulf states followed up that move by urging their citizens to leave Lebanon.
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