THE Kingdom on Thursday imposed sanctions on at least 12 Hezbollah leaders and officials accused of responsibility for carrying out operations for the group around the Middle East, the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia had designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization in March, 2014. "These names were designated today and sanctions imposed on them under the terrorism crimes and financing regime," the statement said. The ministry had also sanctioned entities that were investment arms for Hezbollah's sinister activities, which have surpassed the borders of its Lebanon homeland. The ministry reiterated that the Kingdom will continue to fight against terrorist activities of Hezbollah by all available means and will continue to work with partners around the world in a way emphasizing that no country can tolerate the militias of Hezbollah and its extremist activities. The statement said the classifications and sanctions were based on the Royal Decree A/44 which targeted terrorists, their supporters and those working with them or on their behalf, and which included the freezing of assets of any of the designated names. Saudi citizens shall be banned from carrying out any transactions with them. "As long as Hezbollah continues spreading chaos and instability, carrying out terrorist attacks and practicing criminal and illegal activities around the world, Saudi Arabia would continue classifying activists, leaders and entities belonging to Hezbollah, and accordingly impose sanctions on them." The statement listed names of 12 Hezbollah figures. The first three people in the list are Ali Mousa Daqduq Al-Moussawi, Mohammed Kawtharani and Muhammad Yusuf Ahmed Mansour. The ministry also published different aliases of these Hezbollah leaders. The other listed figures are Adham Tabaja, Qasim Hajij, Hussein Ali Faour, Mustafa Badr Eddin, Ibrahim Aqil, Fouad Shukr, Abdel Nour Al-Shaalan, Mohamed Najib Karim, and Mohammed Salman Fawaz. Daqduq is a senior Hezbollah commander who was placed on a US sanctions blacklist in 2012 for his alleged involvement in a raid in Iraq that led to the deaths of five US soldiers in 2007. The statement also listed entities such as the company of Adham Tabaja, and his Al-Inma Group for Tourism Activities and its branches, and Hussein Ali Faour's Car Care Center. Hezbollah is seen as a long-time ally of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and plays a major role in the Syrian conflict. In May, the Kingdom designated two senior officials of the Hezbollah as terrorists, accusing them of involvement in spreading "chaos and instability".
