France has rejected allegations by a senior US State Department official that the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has stored chemicals that can be used to make explosives in the European country, emphasizing that there is no evidence to substantiate such claims.
“To our knowledge, there is nothing tangible to confirm such an allegation in France today,” French Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll told reporters in Paris on Friday.
“Any activity committed by a foreign organization on our territory would be sanctioned by the French authorities with the greatest firmness,” he added.
Nathan Sales, the State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism, claimed on Thursday that Hezbollah has moved ammonium nitrate from Belgium to France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland in recent years, and is suspected to still be storing the material throughout Europe.
Lebanese Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem says US sanctions on Lebanon are an act of aggression and a failed attempt to “bring Lebanon to its knees.”
The US senior official made the remarks in an online forum hosted by the American Jewish Committee, which has appealed to countries in Europe and elsewhere to impose bans on the Lebanese resistance movement.
Sales, without offering evidence, went on to allege that Washington believes that Hezbollah has since 2012 transported ammonium nitrate around Europe in first aid kits with cold packs that contain the compound.
The United States believes these supplies are still in place throughout Europe, possibly in Greece, Italy and Spain, he said.
The US has designated Hezbollah resistance movement as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997, and has slapped several rounds of sanctions against the group.
The Russian ambassador to Beirut says US officials are under the illusion that they can disarm the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement through sanctions.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Thursday that it had imposed sanctions on Sultan Khalifah As’ad, who the Treasury described as a senior Hezbollah Executive Council official, besides Arch Consulting and Meamar Construction, two Lebanon-based, after accusing them of being linked to the Lebanese resistance movement.
On May 16, 2018, the United States and its partners in the Terrorist Financing and Targeting Center (TFTC), which includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, imposed sanctions on Hezbollah leadership, targeting its Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem.
Press TV is a 24-hour English language news and documentary network, affiliated with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
IRIB is state-owned but independent of the Iranian government in its management and is the only legal TV and radio broadcaster inside Iran. IRIB’s head is appointed directly by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is considered to be close to the country’s conservative political faction. Press TV is headquartered in Tehran with offices and bureaus around the world; including London, Beirut, Damascus, Kabul, and the Gaza Strip.
*All posts on behalf of PressTV are made by Jim W. Dean
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Terrorist Financing and Targeting Center (TFTC)? Are these the people who finance terrorists and choose their targets for them?
Sounds like we are threatening the EU with nukes. The terrorist claim might sound stupid; but the threat behind the claim is scary.
Harry…you have to be clearer….you mean the threat by the US to make up stupid crap?
Didn’t Graham, years ago, indicate that his home state was a target. Then they had that suspicious “earthquake” off the coast. We are dealing with insanity and the criminals have nukes. Why not threaten the EU with make believe terrorism backed by real bombs? As Pogo once retorted, “we have met the enemy and he is us”.
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