Top US officials claims Hezbollah stockpiling weapons for bombs across Europe

A senior US official has told a Jewish audience that Hezbollah is stockpiling weapons and ingredients for bombs across Europe.

Speaking to policy planners at the American Jewish Committee, Nathan Sales from the US State Department said the White House was urging European capitals to take a tougher line on the Lebanon-based militia.

Sales said Hezbollah “represents clear and present danger to the US” and was storing weapons and ammonium nitrate for use in explosives across Europe, with a view to perpetrating future attacks as directed by Iran.

As the State Department’s counterterrorism coordinator, Sales said: “Caches [of weapons] have been moved through Belgium to France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland,” and that “significant ammonium nitrate caches have been discovered or destroyed in France, Greece, and Italy”.

Six weeks ago a warehouse storing a large supply of confiscated ammonium nitrate detonated in Beirut’s port, killing hundreds and injuring thousands. The chemical is used both as a fertiliser as well as an ingredient in bombs.

Sale said the US “has reason to believe that this activity is still under way,” in reference to Hezbollah operatives’ storage of material in countries across the continent.

“Why would Hezbollah stockpile ammonium nitrate on European soil? The answer is clear. It can conduct major terror attacks whenever its masters in Tehran deem it necessary,” he said. “Hezbollah represents a clear and present danger to the US today. Hezbollah represents a clear and present danger to Europe today.”

Sales added that the EU’s approach since 2013 “simply hasn’t worked,” saying: “The limited designation of Hezbollah’s so-called military wing hasn’t dissuaded the group from preparing for terrorist attacks.”