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The French Foreign Ministry said there is no evidence to indicate that Lebanese Hezbollah is storing chemicals to make explosives in France, in response to statements by a senior US official in which he said the party has established hideouts in Europe since 2012. .
The US State Department’s counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sales said the Iranian-backed party had escaped and stored chemicals, including ammonium nitrate, from Belgium to France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
Sales added in a statement that the party is storing these weapons in places “so that it can carry out major terrorist attacks when it deems it necessary for its masters in Tehran,” and did not provide other details or evidence of the existence of such activities.
In turn, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Molle told reporters in response to Sells’ accusations: “As far as we know, there is nothing tangible to confirm such a claim in France today.”
He added that the French authorities will impose harsh penalties on illegal activities carried out by any foreign group on their territory.
Unlike the United States, which has classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization since 1997, France says its chosen wing has a legitimate political role.
Germany and Britain, both Paris allies, also classify the group as a terrorist organization, but French officials say the group’s ostracism will make it impossible to resolve the crisis.
Ammonium nitrate is an industrial chemical that is commonly used in the manufacture of fertilizers and as an explosive in quarries and mining, it is considered relatively safe if it is free of contaminants and stored properly.
The material is highly dangerous if exposed to contamination, mixed with fuel, or stored unsafe, as happened in the Beirut port explosion last August.
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