The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is reportedly considering blacklisting Lebanese Hezbollah group as a whole, Saudi Arabia daily Al-Watan reported.
According to a unnamed source quoted by the paper, the alliance of six Persian Gulf states “does not differentiate between Hezbollah’s military and political wings”. If carried out, the measure would emulate sanctions already imposed on the organisation by the US and Israel, as well as EU member state the Netherlands, whilst falling short of last week’s EU foreign affairs council decision to blacklist only the military wing of the group, in line with existing British policy.
GCC member and former British protectorate Bahrain moved to outlaw Hezbollah in May of this year, ahead of its hosting of a Joint Council and Ministerial Meeting with the EU in the capital of Manama in June. Staunch Iranian critics Bahrain banned domestic political groups from making contact with Hezbollah, which Israel and the US both claim serves as the Islamist regime’s proxy, on account of the interference it fears the group has waged amongst its Shi’ite Muslim majority. The kingdom is ruled by the Sunni al Khalifa family.
Despite Bahraini Deputy Foreign Minister Ghanem al-Buanain’s claims the council was considering “taking action against any Hezbollah interests in GCC countries” ahead of its meeting, however, its statement last month concluded only that ministers “condemned the participation of Hezbollah and other foreign forces in military operations in Syria”., as it further slammed “terrorism in all its forms, and underlined the importance of international counter-terrorism cooperation”.
The Joint council meeting was co-chaired by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who equally oversaw last Monday’s foreign affair council meeting. GCC officials apparently met this month to update the council’s position on the group however and to attempt to coordinate action against the organisation it now deems a terrorist entity. Despite not publicly specifying what action it is seeking to exercise, any sanctions against the Lebanese stalwart by the oil-rich Arab states would likely have no small degree of impact, particularly on the 500,000 Lebanese nationals living in Gulf states.
Gulf measures against Hezbollah began earlier this month with the restriction of all financial transactions originating from Hezbollah bank accounts in Gulf states, in response to Hezbollah intervention in the ongoing Syrian crisis. GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al-Zayani told Syrian daily Okaz last week that the interior ministries of the six Gulf states have agreed to restrict the residency permits and financial transactions of proven Hezbollah members.
Speaking last month however, ahead of these latest reports of developments, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah attempted to downplay the significance of any potential GCC action, insisting his organisation has no “projects in the Gulf or anywhere else” and that implied recourse “will only strengthen our conviction that we’re on the right track”.
The GCC is a political and economic umbrella organisation whose members include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.