Lebanese Groups Shocked by Pompeo’s ‘Level of Madness’

U.S. Blacklisting of Astan Quds Draws Condemnation

Date: 17 January 2021 - 21:34

News ID: ۸۶۶۳۱

BEIRUT (Dispatches) -- Different Lebanese groups have condemned the U.S. blacklisting of Astan Quds Razavi (AQR), an organization based in the Iranian city of Mashhad that manages the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department added the AQR as well as its custodian Ahmad Marvi to its sanctions list.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that the institution enabled Iranian officials to "exploit a system of ownership over a wide range of sectors of Iran’s economy.”
The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets of the religious foundation and generally bar Americans from doing business with it.
In a statement released on Saturday, Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement denounced Washington’s blacklisting of Astan Quds Razavi as a "foolish act” that desecrates Islam and spiritual principles.
The U.S. move "surpasses all political differences and amounts to clear announcement of enmity towards to religious beliefs. It also represents the moral collapse of the U.S. administration,” Hezbollah’s Media Relations Office said.
"It seems that U.S. Secretary of State’s level of madness and hatred has been considerably increasing as the presidential term (of Donald Trump) is coming to an end,” it added.
"Blacklisting and imposing sanctions on Astan Quds Razavi and its custodian Sheikh Ahmad Marvi is an unprecedented move. This site is a holy place that has been for years a destination for millions of pilgrims from all over the world.”
Additionally, the Amal movement led by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, called on the U.S. administration to undo its measure against the Iranian organization.
The political party stressed that the desecration of sanctities is a "hostile act,” which provokes the feelings of Muslims and necessitates a response from all nations because it infringes on religious creeds and violates the international law as well as humanitarian values.
The Supreme Islamic Shia Council of Lebanon also said that the illegitimate U.S. decision targets the religious sanctities and comprises an act of unprecedented, serious hostility.

It further called on the U.S. administration to abandon its hostile approach, saying the Astan Quds Razavi reflects a sublime religious value for the Muslims and a cultural value for the entire humanity.
The council also urged the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to condemn the U.S. decision and assume its responsibility in preserving the cultural landmark.
Iran has been under a series of illegal sanctions imposed by the US since 2018, when President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The U.S. unleashed the so-called maximum pressure campaign and targeted the Iranian nation with the "toughest ever” restrictive measures.
In recent months, Washington has been tightening its oppressive sanctions against the Islamic Republic in order to make it more difficult for the incoming administration of Joe Biden to rejoin the JCPOA.
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities.
Pompeo said Washington had sanctioned seven companies, including Chinese-based Jiangyin Mascot Special Steel Co and UAE-based Accenture Building Materials, and two people for shipping steel to or from Iran.
He said Iran’s Marine Industries Organization, Aerospace Industries Organization and the Iran Aviation Industries Organization had also been blacklisted.
In a statement later on Friday, Pompeo said he was also increasing the scope of metals-related sanctions against Iran administered by the State Department.
Those who knowingly transfer 15 materials which the State Department claims are used in connection with Iran’s nuclear, military or ballistic missile programs, including certain types of aluminum and steel, would be subject to sanctions, he said.
The Iranian president’s chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, dismissed the sanctions as a "show” which demonstrated the Trump administration’s hostility towards Iran.
"The recent U.S. sanctions, while nothing more than a show, are another sign of the Trump administration’s criminal nature - a bankrupt government that even in its last days cannot put aside its hostility towards Iranians,” Vaezi said on Twitter.