Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is seen addressing supporters, in Beirut, Lebanon. Photo: Reuters.

The US government has warmly welcomed Serbia’s decision to designate Hezbollah — Iran’s Shi’a proxy in Lebanon —  as a terrorist organization in its entirety.

The designation was “another significant step limiting this Iranian-backed terrorist group’s ability to operate in Europe,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Sunday.

Pompeo noted that the designation was “part of the historic commitments President Trump secured on a wide range of economic normalization issues between Serbia and Kosovo, coupled with the steps both nations are taking to help achieve peace in the Middle East.”

Serbia and Kosovo signed a range of separate pledges with the US government earlier this month that included Serbia’s pledge to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and a promise from Kosovo — which seceded from Serbia following the NATO military intervention of 1999 — to exchange mutual recognition with Israel.

Kosovo already designated Hezbollah in its entirety in June, and Pompeo urged all EU states to follow its example.

“The United States continues to call on the European Union and European nations to designate or ban Hezbollah in its entirety, and recognize the reality that it is a terrorist organization root and branch with no distinction between its so-called ‘military’ and ‘political’ wings,” Pompeo said. “We urge all countries in Europe and elsewhere to take whatever action they can to prevent Hezbollah operatives, recruiters, and financiers from operating on their territories.”

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) tweeted on Sunday, “Thank you, Serbia, for designating Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.”

Thank you, Serbia ??, for designating Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.

Momentum is building! What nation will be next to join Serbia and ???????? in limiting the Iranian-backed terrorist group’s ability to operate in Europe? https://t.co/hs5j3ebKPF

— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) September 13, 2020