Obama Renews Sanctions on Assets Linked to Hizbullah
President Barack Obama renewed a “national emergency” which imposes a freeze on assets of people linked to Hizbullah, stressing that they still “undermine Lebanon's stability.”
Obama said in a message to Congress on Monday that the situation in Lebanon made it necessary for him to renew the measure, which expires on August 1.
"Certain ongoing activities, such as continuing arms transfers to Hizbllah that include increasingly sophisticated weapons systems, serve to undermine Lebanese sovereignty, contribute to political and economic instability in Lebanon, and continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States," he wrote.
"For this reason, the national emergency declared on August 1, 2007, and the measures adopted on that date to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond August 1, 2013," Obama added.
The U.S. considers Hizbullah a terror group and accuses Syria and Iran of arming it.
In August 2007, President George W. Bush ordered a freeze on U.S. assets of anyone Washington deems to be undermining the Lebanese government.
Bush didn't specify those who were affected by the decision, which came after a travel ban in June on Syrian officials and Lebanese politicians whom Washington accuses of infringing upon Lebanon's stability.
Source: Agence France Presse
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