Germany officially designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization on Thursday and raided locations associated with the Iran-backed group as part of a new ban on its activities.
German Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer called the Lebanon-based group a “Shiite terrorist organization” and instructed authorities across the country to search the homes of the organization’s leadership.
Raids were reportedly carried out at mosques, and the interior minister said authorities were directed to carry out early morning searches to prevent any destruction of evidence linking individuals or groups to Hezbollah activities.
“The associations under investigation are suspected of forming part of Hezbollah due to their financial support and propaganda for the terrorist organization,” Seehofer said in a statement.
Police were dispatched to five cities, including Berlin, Bremen, Münster, Recklinghausen and Dortmund.
Germany said it decided to ban Hezbollah because of the group’s repeated calls for the “violent elimination” of Israel and its questioning of Israel’s right to exist.
“The organization is therefore fundamentally against the concept of international understanding, regardless of whether it presents itself as a political, social or military structure,” Seehofer said.
The move aligns Germany with the U.S. and Israel, which have pressed for other countries to label Hezbollah a terrorist entity.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell tweeted “the world is a little bit safer” with the German ban on Hezbollah.
Grenell is President Trump’s acting director of national intelligence.
Israeli Interior Minister Israel Katz also welcomed the move by the German government and said others should follow suit.
“I call on other European countries & the EU to do the same. Hezbollah is a terror organization & must be treated as such,” he tweeted.
The European Union has outlawed the military of wing of Hezbollah but allows its political arm to operate.