Kosovo sanctions seven people, a company for ties to Hezbollah

The decision was made by the Kosovo government.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Donika Grovalla-Schwarz said the sanctions are imposed “conform UN Security Council Resolution 1373 to seven individuals and a company for their ties to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and their role in its financial network on the Arabian Peninsula”.

Sanctions consist of freezing assets; stopping travel; and preventing funds from being made available by individuals and ethnicities in Kosovo.

The recommended “Measures demonstrate Kosovo's commitment as an active part of the international coalitions against terrorism and all forms of violent extremism”, Minister Grovall said, adding that such a decision would contribute to the close partnership with the United States and other key partners in protecting common values.

While Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Kosovo is directly committed to fighting terrorism, radicalism and violent extremism through legal affirmation, strategic approach and executive actions, as well as active participation in the Global Coalition.

The Kosovo government, with June 23, 2020, has declared Hezbollah's political and military arm as a terrorist organisation.

Hezbollah, Lebanon's rainy group, has worked with Iran in the Middle East since it was founded in 1982.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard established this group in 1982 to spread the Islamic Revolution and fight Israeli forces that had invaded Lebanon that same year.

Hezbollah supports Tehran's Shiite Islamic ideology, and considers Iran's supreme leader, Ayatallah Ali Khamenei, a political and spiritual guide.

Proclaimed by the United States and other Western states as a terrorist organisation, Hezbollah has a powerful military arm, which has admitted to being armed and funded by Iran.