Iranian daily portrays Merkel as Hitler for ban on Hezbollah

An Iranian state-run daily criticized Germany for designating the Iran-backed Hezbollah a terrorist organisation, portraying German Chancellor Angela Merkel as Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Germany branded Hezbollah a “Shia terrorist organization” on Thursday, with dozens of police and special forces storming mosques and associations across the country linked to the Lebanese militant group.

Read more: Iran threatens Germany for ban on Hezbollah, says will have to face consequences

In an article entitled “servant of Zionism,” the state-run Vatan-e Emrooz daily likened Merkel to Hitler on Saturday.

The daily, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), referred to Hezbollah as “one of Iran’s security arms in the region” and claimed that the US is behind Germany’s decision to designate the Lebanese militant group a terrorist organization.

“By pressuring countries to designate Lebanese Hezbollah a terrorist organisation and restrict its activities, [US President Donald] Trump intends to weaken one of Iran’s security arms in the region so that he can ultimately weaken Iran’s national security,” the article read.

Read more: Senior Iran diplomat condemns Germany's designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist group

The article also argued that Hezbollah is a source of security in the region, and by weakening it, the US seeks to bring about insecurity to later use it as a pretext to lengthen its military presence in the region.

The Iranian foreign ministry’s condemnation of Germany’s decision to designate Hezbollah a terror group is not enough, the article added, calling on Iran and its allies to “increase the costs” of labelling Hezbollah a terror group for the German government.

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