Hezbollah says doesn't need validation of its 'patriotism' after US sanctions

Hezbollah on Friday hit back at the U.S. administration over its announcement that the group is under the control of Iran’s Quds Force, the expeditionary arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

"The U.S. administration, through the Treasury Department and the State Department, claimed yesterday that the party is under the control of the Quds Force, using this as justification for its re-inclusion on the sanctions list. This decision is nothing more than another link in the chain of U.S. administrations' ongoing policies to target the resistance, its community, its environment, and its supporters,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

It emphasized that it "does not need anyone to validate its Lebanese identity and patriotism,” noting that “the sacrifices of thousands of martyrs who gave their lives for Lebanon and its people, and the long history of resistance, confronting occupation, and defending the land and sovereignty, are the true testament to its Lebanese identity."

As for the relation with Iran, Hezbollah added: "Our close and fraternal relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran is one we cherish and are proud of, because it stood with Lebanon, supported it, and assisted it in liberating its land and restoring its sovereignty and rights.”

“It remained by Lebanon's side through every stage and crisis, and was among the first countries to contribute to the reconstruction of what was destroyed by the Zionist aggression during the July 2006 war," Hezbollah pointed out.

It stressed that "all these unjust sanctions and designations will not deter us from adhering to the option of resistance and the right of Lebanon and the Lebanese people to defend their land, sovereignty and resources.”

“The resistance has been, is, and will remain an integral part of Lebanon's history, present and future," Hezbollah emphasized.

The United States announced new sanctions Thursday against an alleged Hezbollah financing network, while highlighting the Lebanese armed group's close ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Hezbollah's legal designation as a “terrorist” organization has been amended to note that it operates in "service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," particularly the elite Quds Force, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.

Washington designated Hezbollah as a "foreign terrorist organization" in 1997, and in 2001 updated its label to a "specially designated global terrorist" group.

The new redesignation "specifies that Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, not a stand-alone operation as implied by the previous designation," a State Department official said.

"This underscores that Hezbollah operates with little to no regard for Lebanese sovereignty, the Lebanese people, or the Lebanese state," the official added.

"It is not a Lebanese resistance movement," as Hezbollah describes itself, the official said.