The Government of Estonia has decided to impose sanctions on the Iran-backed political party and militant group Hezbollah and ban the group’s affiliates from entering the country.
Estonia’s decision against Hezbollah reportedly came in response to “terrorist acts,” announced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Urmas Reinsalu.
“Hezbollah poses a considerable threat to international – and thereby Estonian – security,” said Reinsalu.
“With this step, Estonia stands by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Lithuania as well as other countries who have concluded that Hezbollah uses terrorist means and constitutes a threat to the security of many states,” he added.
He indicated that any Hezbollah affiliate “whose activity supports terrorism” will now be banned from entering Estonia. In that, Estonia joins the countries that have restrictions on Hezbollah or designated as a “terrorist organization.”
This year, Germany Lithuania, and Serbia have banned Hezbollah and its members from entering their land. Guatemala has just taken the same position and Switzerland is considering it.
Most recently, Sudan declared that it will also designate the group as a “terrorist organization” under a deal with Israel.
This comes concurrently with the US imposing on Thursday new sanctions on Iranian entities, including Hezbollah officials.
