Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Reul makes a statement after the German Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer has issued a ban on Hezbollah’s activities.
The German government on on April 30, 2020 said it was banning all activities of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in Germany, calling it a “Shiite terrorist organisation”. Although Hezbollah has no official presence in Germany, security forces believe its members use the country as a safe haven and to raise funds, including through criminal activities.
Dozens of police and special forces stormed mosques and associations linked to Hezbollah in Bremen, Berlin, Dortmund and Muenster in the early hours of the morning. Furthermore, German police raided five sites linked to the Lebanese militant group.
On the other hand, Iran has condemned Berlin’s ban of Hezbollah activity in Germany and its designation of the Iranian-backed Lebanese group as a terrorist organisation, saying the move serves U.S. and Israeli interests, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi criticized the German government for accusing Hezbollah of promoting armed struggle with terrorist means. He said the group was an official and legitimate member of the Lebanese government and parliament and a force of political stability.
