US-sanctioned Hezbollah member visits UAE to open ‘new page’ in ties

BEIRUT — A senior official from the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah has made a landmark trip to the United Arab Emirates to facilitate the release of more than a dozen Lebanese nationals detained there, four sources close to Hezbollah tells Reuters.

The visit at the invitation of the UAE could signal a significant shift away from the hostility that has long defined relations between Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah and the Sunni Muslim UAE, a strategic ally of the United States, analysts said.

There is no immediate response from the UAE foreign ministry to Reuters’ requests for comments.

One of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, describes Wafiq Safa’s visit as a “new page” in ties between the UAE and Hezbollah, which is designated a terrorist group by the United States and its Gulf Arab allies.

Safa traveled to the UAE yesterday, the sources say. He runs Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit, responsible for coordinating with Lebanese security agencies, and is sanctioned by the United States.

The four sources familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking say that the UAE made contact with Hezbollah with a message that they were seeking to release the Lebanese detainees, several of whom were serving life sentences.

The sources say the detainees were arrested on charges including providing support and finance for Hezbollah, describing these as politically motivated charges.

All four sources say the detainees will be released in the coming days and will accompany Safa back to Lebanon.

Two of the sources say the UAE asked Hezbollah’s ally Syrian President Bashar Assad to pass on the message before the start of the Gaza war, during which Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border.

There is no immediate response from Syria’s information ministry to a Reuters request for comment.

One of the sources says the visit suggests an effort to alleviate “some of the regional tensions,” without elaborating.

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