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US Sanctions Iraq's Asaib Ahl al-Haq

Members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq walk outside their premises in Basra, Iraq November 8, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
Members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq walk outside their premises in Basra, Iraq November 8, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
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US Sanctions Iraq's Asaib Ahl al-Haq

Members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq walk outside their premises in Basra, Iraq November 8, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
Members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq walk outside their premises in Basra, Iraq November 8, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani

The United States has designated Iraq’s Asaib Ahl al-Haq as a terrorist organization along with two of the militia group's leaders, the State Department said in a statement on Friday.

The group and its leaders are “violent proxies” of Iran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

The group is backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, which has also been sanctioned by Washington, according to the State Department.

The designation came after a US airstrike killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian commander, in Baghdad.

The White House justified the killing with a tweet saying that Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region."

The 62-year-old led the Quds Force, which undertakes the country's foreign campaigns.

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Lebanese President Calls for Pressuring Israel to Implement Ceasefire Agreement

A handout photo provided by the Lebanese Presidency on March 26, 2025, shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with France's envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (C) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout photo provided by the Lebanese Presidency on March 26, 2025, shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with France's envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (C) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
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Lebanese President Calls for Pressuring Israel to Implement Ceasefire Agreement

A handout photo provided by the Lebanese Presidency on March 26, 2025, shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with France's envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (C) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout photo provided by the Lebanese Presidency on March 26, 2025, shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with France's envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (C) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called on the US and France to press Israel to uphold its commitments under the ceasefire agreement announced between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah in November.

During a meeting with French Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian at Baabda Palace on Wednesday, Aoun highlighted ongoing Israeli violations in south Lebanon, which he said contradict the ceasefire agreement, citing Israel’s continued occupation of five strategic hills and its failure to release Lebanese citizens taken captive during the recent conflict.

Aoun also urged the guarantors of the agreement to press Israel to uphold its commitments to preserve their own credibility and to ensure the restoration of stability and the cessation of hostilities.

The ceasefire ended Israel's intense bombardment and ground operations in Lebanon and Hezbollah's daily rocket barrages into Israel. Each side has accused the other of failing to implement the deal in full.

Israel says Hezbollah still has military infrastructure in the south. Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel is occupying Lebanese land by continuing to carry out some airstrikes and keeping its troops at five hilltop positions near the frontier.

The discussions between the Lebanese president and the French envoy also covered the security situation along Lebanon’s border with Syria.

Aoun told Le Drian that he was looking forward to his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday.

The visit, Aoun said, is an opportunity to express his appreciation for France’s unwavering support for Lebanon and mainly Macron’s personal role in facilitating Lebanon’s presidential election.

The President also stressed that reform remains a top priority, alongside the reconstruction of towns and villages devastated by Israeli bombardment during the recent war.

Le Drian also visited Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Grand Serail and Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.