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US House of Representatives Urges EU to Designate 'Hezbollah' in its Entirety as Terrorist

US House of Representatives in session (Reuters)
US House of Representatives in session (Reuters)
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US House of Representatives Urges EU to Designate 'Hezbollah' in its Entirety as Terrorist

US House of Representatives in session (Reuters)
US House of Representatives in session (Reuters)

The US House of Representatives approved a resolution "urging the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization."

The draft proposed by Democratic and Republican representatives aims to pressure the EU to follow the US and include Hezbollah's political wing in its terrorist lists.

The bill's sponsor, Representative Ted Deutch, said: "Hezbollah is a proxy for Iran. It's time for the EU to join the US, Germany, Argentina, the Arab League, and others in saying […] that it is one, a unified terrorist organization."

Deutch said that the approval of the House of Representatives of this resolution sends an "important message to our European allies: more can and must be done to counter the Iranian proxy (Hezbollah), which begins with calling them what they are: a terrorist organization in its entirety that is committed to the destruction of our ally Israel and continues to undermine the values and interests of both US and Europe."

The Rep. reiterated there is no difference between Hezbollah's branches, and the military wing cannot be separated from the political wing.

The Democratic representative called on the European Union to stop allowing Hezbollah's political wing to operate freely in some EU countries and join the United States in targeting the terrorist group and its global criminal networks.

For her part, Congresswoman Kathy Manning praised the bill, noting that Hezbollah is a "terrorist group responsible for thousands of civilian deaths, not just in the Middle East but around the globe."

The MPs urged the European Union to impose sanctions on all wings of the party and share intelligence information with the United States to end the party's influence in the region.

- The bill in details

The proposed draft resolution aims to obstruct Hezbollah's fundraising efforts to finance its terrorist activities worldwide and seeks to reduce the support it enjoys aiming to weaken it.

It recalled the sanctions imposed by the Department of the Treasury in July 2019 on two Hezbollah-backed lawmakers, Amin Sherri and Mohammad Hasan Raad, noting that the party uses its operatives in parliament to advance its violent activities.

It referred to Hezbollah's support to the Assad regime in Syria and the training it provides to thousands of militants in Iraq and Yemen, further destabilizing the region.

It also mentioned that Hezbollah activities continue to "plague Lebanon with profound economic and political instability and violence," indicating that in August 2020, at least 220 people died and thousands more were injured when a massive stockpile of ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut's port.

The Department of the Treasury and Department of State estimate that Iran provides as much as $700 million annually to Hezbollah through financial and logistical support, weapons, and training.

The bill stated that Europol's June 2020 European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report outlined that Hezbollah is "suspected of trafficking diamonds and drugs and of money laundering via the trade in second-hand cars."

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Arab World

Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man in West Bank Raid

Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the Israel army following a military operation after a Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the Israel army following a military operation after a Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man in West Bank Raid

Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the Israel army following a military operation after a Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the Israel army following a military operation after a Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, while the military said it killed a suspect who had attempted to attack troops.

The Palestinian health ministry announced the death of 28-year-old Abdul Karim Muhammad Khader Suleiman, who it said was "shot and killed by the occupation forces on Tuesday morning in the town of Aqraba.”

It said his body was being withheld by Israeli authorities.

The Israeli military said soldiers arrived in Aqraba, in the north of the West Bank, "in order to question a terrorist," who then threw a Molotov cocktail and an improvised explosive device towards them, causing no injuries.

It said soldiers surrounded and then entered the building, where they encountered him holding a knife "which he intended to use to attack the soldiers" and killed him.

Israeli soliders gather during a military operation in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

AFP footage from the scene showed the exterior wall of the targeted house with gaping holes in the side, while young Palestinian boys stood among the pile of rubble strewn below.

An eyewitness and Aqraba's mayor said Israeli forces had fired projectiles at the house and brought in military bulldozers.

The mayor, Salah al-Din Jaber, said between 300 and 400 soldiers raided the town overnight, declared it a closed military zone, and surrounded the house.

Suleiman's wife and mother left the house first, and he stayed inside, Jaber told AFP by telephone. "After that, they arrested him and executed him in front of the house, and they seized his body."

"This was a show of force, nothing more and nothing less," he added.

Jaber said the slain man had been unarmed and there had been no exchange of fire.

Arab World

Iraqi Judiciary Backs Government Efforts to Bring Weapons Under State Control

The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)
The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)
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Iraqi Judiciary Backs Government Efforts to Bring Weapons Under State Control

The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)
The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zidan has stressed the judiciary’s support for government efforts to bring weapons under state control based on a plan adopted by the Coordination Framework.

Zidan made the remarks during a meeting Monday with the new US chargé d’affaires in Iraq, Steven Fagin. A statement from the Supreme Judicial Council said the two discussed the judiciary’s role in supporting the government’s program to restrict weapons to the state.

The process will proceed under “a well-studied plan” adopted by the Coordination Framework, with a committee established by the alliance tasked with preparing it and announcing it once completed and at the appropriate time. The plan is intended to uphold Iraq’s positive relations with the international community and ensure compliance with the constitution and the law.

Legal and political sources have previously indicated that the Iraqi judiciary is determined to designate militias as terrorist organizations if they refuse to disarm by the deadline for the withdrawal of international coalition forces.

Coordination Framework leaders were also expected to hold their weekly meeting Monday to discuss several issues, foremost among them bringing weapons under state control, completing the government lineup and proposed amendments to the Popular Mobilization Forces law.

Coalition withdrawal

With the Sept. 30 deadline for the withdrawal of US-led international coalition forces approaching, uncertainty continues to surround key political and security issues, particularly efforts to disarm Iran-aligned factions.

Washington has repeatedly pressed Baghdad in recent months to resolve the issue, warning that failure to do so could expose Iraq to economic and political sanctions at a time when the country is already facing financial strains.

A source close to the Coordination Framework told Asharq Al-Awsat that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government had softened its previously firm rhetoric on disarming the factions, while armed groups had become increasingly vocal in rejecting the demand.

The source attributed the shift to tense discussions within the Coordination Framework and between its leaders and al-Zaidi. The prime minister has repeatedly warned of the risks of failing to disarm and pointed to US demands, while some Framework leaders believe there is room to maneuver with Washington.

Conflicting statements by Framework leaders are also part of an effort to buy time, the source added, as the alliance faces pressure from two sides: Washington, which wants the issue resolved, and Tehran, which opposes disarmament.

State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki recently raised the possibility of distinguishing between heavy, medium and light weapons, questioning whether restrictions should cover all arms or only weapons capable of striking domestic or foreign targets.

His comments were widely interpreted as a shift toward opposing comprehensive disarmament, prompting his office director, Hisham al-Rikabi, to say they had been “misunderstood.”

Factions resist disarmament

Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada are among the most prominent Iran-aligned factions strongly resisting disarmament. Their demands have included the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Iraq and placing Kurdish Peshmerga forces under the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Firas Elias, a political science professor at the University of Mosul, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sept. 30 was unlikely to mark a comprehensive handover of weapons.

Instead, he expects the deadline to begin a lengthy process involving the coalition’s withdrawal, a transitional period, the classification of factions and weapons, and the integration or redistribution of some fighters, alongside efforts to place heavy weapons, drones and missiles under state supervision.

The factions’ stringent conditions may indicate a shift from rejecting disarmament outright to negotiating the price of surrendering their weapons autonomy, Elias said.

The equation, he added, is moving from “weapons versus the state” to “weapons versus guarantees,” with factions setting demands Baghdad cannot fully meet so they can later concede some conditions while retaining part of their power and influence.

Arab World

New Battlefronts in Yemen Leave Houthis in Disarray

Armed forces celebrate their advances in al-Jawf. (X)
Armed forces celebrate their advances in al-Jawf. (X)
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New Battlefronts in Yemen Leave Houthis in Disarray

Armed forces celebrate their advances in al-Jawf. (X)
Armed forces celebrate their advances in al-Jawf. (X)

The Yemeni army and the National Resistance made progress on the ground on Monday across fronts in the Taiz, al-Bayda, and al-Jawf governorates, amid successive collapses and retreats among the Houthis. Al-Jawf is witnessing tribal mobilization in support of government forces following their field advances.

Yemeni army media announced that government forces secured a tactical breakthrough on the al-Bayda front, successfully liberating the Hayd al-Khazzan and al-Falhan areas up to the al-Nasifa region. The development allows the forces an advantage to sever Houthi supply lines between the central and southern governorates.

The advance coincided with the establishment of control over all hills and plateaus overlooking the al-Zaher district.

The director of media for the al-Bayda governorate, Aref Al-Amari, confirmed that the armed forces have tightened their control over the strategic highlands overlooking al-Zaher.

He noted that forces are currently combing al-Nasifa in preparation for an advance toward the Dhi Naem area, a development that strengthens the position of government forces in the governorate.

Spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces Colonel Maeen al-Nuzaili said the forces are achieving progress and victories on the al-Jawf and al-Bayda fronts as part of operations "aimed at restoring state institutions and ending the Houthi coup."

He called on the group's operatives to abandon their positions with their light weapons to save their lives.

On the western front, the Joint Forces managed to secure a vital artery in al-Kadha connecting Taiz city to the western coast, following the defeat of Houthis stationed in the controlling highlands.

Government forces targeted massive Houthi military reinforcements west of Taiz city, leaving heavy losses in lives and equipment.

Comprising more than 21 military vehicles, they were heading to support the al-Barh and Maqbanah fronts.

Meanwhile, tribes were mobilizing in al-Jawf to support the armed forces against the Houthis. According to local sources, the tribes moved toward the al-Yatma district.