Saudi Arabia sanctions alleged Hezbollah leaders

Riyadh says two suspected members of terror group aided Assad regime in Syria, ‘interfered’ in Yemen

By AFP 27 May 2015, 9:07 pm

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Hezbollah members mourn during the funeral of a comrade who was killed in combat alongside Syrian government forces in the Qalamun region, on May 26, 2015, in the southern Lebanese village of Ghaziyeh. (AFP PHOTO / MAHMOUD ZAYYAT)

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced sanctions against two alleged leaders of Lebanon’s powerful Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah, including one it accused of “interfering” in Yemen.

Tensions between Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Shiite Iran have risen since late March when a Riyadh-led coalition began bombing Iran-backed Houthi Shiite rebels in neighboring Yemen.

Iran provides military aid and support to Hezbollah, which backs the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad while Riyadh supports Sunni-led rebels in Syria.

Iran denies arming Yemen’s Houthis.

The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said the two individuals sanctioned by the kingdom were “responsible for activities ranging from supporting the Assad regime in Syria, including by sending fighters, paying sums of money to different factions in Yemen and to military leaders responsible for terrorist attacks in the Middle East.”

It accused Khalil Yousif Harb, 56, of being a senior Hezbollah military figure “involved in Hezbollah’s political interference in Yemen,” including the alleged transfer of money.

The other suspect, Mohammed Qablan, born in 1969, was the alleged leader of a Hezbollah “terrorist cell” sentenced to life in prison in absentia by a Cairo court, SPA said.

Saudi Arabia is to freeze any assets of the two men under its sanctions, SPA said.