AFP, CAIRO: The Arab League on Friday declared Iran ally Hezbollah a “terrorist” group, after Gulf monarchies adopted the same stance over the Lebanese Shiite movement’s support for the regime in Syria’s war.
The move reflects the worsening tensions between Shiite Iran and the six-nation Sunni-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia is a key member.
It comes a month after Riyadh cut ties with Tehran following demonstrations in which its embassy and a consulate were torched, in the wake of the Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
Friday’s decision was endorsed by the majority of foreign ministers of the pan-Arab body except for Lebanon and Iraq which expressed “reservations”, said Bahraini diplomat Wahid Mubarak Sayar.
“The resolution of the League’s council (of foreign ministers) includes the designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist group,” he said reading from a statement at the Cairo headquarters of the League.