LONDON: Hezbollah works for the Iranian regime and not the Lebanese people, a senior US diplomat said as he urged European countries to impose an outright ban on the group.
Richard Grenell, the ambassador to Germany, made the plea as Lebanon formed a new government made up of ministers nominated by the militant, Iran-backed organization and its allies
The European Union lists Hezbollah鈥檚 military wing as a banned terrorist group, but not its political wing, which has been part of Lebanese governments in recent years.
鈥淭he EU thus maintains an artificial distinction between Hezbollah鈥檚 鈥榩olitical wing鈥� and 鈥榤ilitary wing,鈥� a division the terror group itself does not recognize,鈥� Grenell said in an opinion article published by Politico.
鈥淭he EU鈥檚 stated intent for creating this false distinction is to preserve an open channel with Hezbollah and its representatives in the Lebanese government,鈥� he added.
鈥淎n EU-wide designation of Hezbollah is necessary to deny it the vast European recruiting and fundraising networks it needs to survive.鈥�

Grenell said the German parliament last month called on the government to ban the activities of Hezbollah and for the group to be put on the EU鈥檚 terrorist list.
The entire Hezbollah organization is designated as a terrorist group by the US, the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, 黑料社区 and Gulf states among others.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week called on 鈥渁ll nations鈥� to classify Hezbollah as 
terrorist after the UK said it had added the entire movement to its terrorism blacklist and frozen all its assets.
鈥淒esignating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization does no harm to US-Lebanese relations, but it does empower the US to disrupt the international criminal networks that help fund Hezbollah鈥檚 support for the (Syrian President Bashar) Assad regime and Iran鈥檚 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,鈥� he said.
Hezbollah鈥檚 large role in the formation of Lebanon鈥檚 new government under Prime Minister Hassan Diab is expected to raise concerns over the scale of the group鈥檚 hold over the country. The cabinet formed under Prime Minister Hassan Diab is facing mass protests and a dire economic crisis.
Grenell said EU states struggle to reach a consensus on 鈥淗ezbollah鈥檚 legitimacy due to its political role in Lebanon.鈥�
Washington is 鈥渞esolute in its efforts to stop the spread of Hezbollah鈥檚 terror, but we cannot contain the threat on our own,鈥� he said.