Most states taking part in a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Friday denounced Hezbollah for spreading “terrorism” and for destabilizing the national security of its member countries, Al Arabiya reported.
The summit took place in Turkey and was hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The OIC is comprised of 57 member states. Over 30 leaders attended the summit, including the Saudi king and Iranian president.
The final declaration expressed hope that negotiations that started in Geneva on April 13 would contribute to resolving “the Syrian crisis as soon as possible” and “deplored Iran’s interference” and “continued support for terrorism” not only in Syria but also Bahrain, Yemen, and Somalia, according to Al Arabiya.
The OIC, however, did not officially blacklist Hezbollah nor circulate its final communique when it condemned the Lebanese group.
Nevertheless, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi blasted the decision, telling the Tasnim news agency that the OIC “will definitely regret the stances it adopted against Iran and Hezbollah in future.”
“In the current situation, the OIC’s general atmosphere is not really an indicative of the cooperation among Islamic countries and the unity in the Muslim world,” he asserted.
The move is another blow for Hezbollah, which has already been blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Gulf Arab states. The Arab League followed suit with a similar designation.
Hezbollah was outraged by the Gulf states' decision to blacklist it, calling it “irresponsible and hostile” and urging the Saudi regime to “face the consequences”.
Iran also expressed great outrage over the designation of Hezbollah and said, "Those who call Hezbollah terrorists, have intentionally or unintentionally targeted the unity and security of Lebanon."
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)