Israeli thanked Argentinian authorities on Thursday after they designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and ordered the freezing of the Lebanese Islamist group's assets in the country.
The announcement coincided with a visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as Argentina marks the 25th anniversary of the deadly bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in which 85 people died. Argentina blames Iran and Hezbollah for the attack.
Argentina also blames Hezbollah for an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 that killed 29 people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Argentinian President Mauricio Macri for the designation from Jerusalem.
"It is time the entire enlightened world understand the grave danger Iran and Hezbollah pose. It is time the entire world stand up against it," Netanyahu said
The Argentine government's Financial Information Unit, ordered the freezing of assets of members of Hezbollah and the organization a day after the country created a new list for people and entities linked to terrorism. The designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist group was the first by any Latin American country.
"At present, Hezbollah continues to represent a current threat to security and the integrity of the economic and financial order of the Argentine Republic," the unit said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the move.
Last year, Argentina froze the assets of 14 members of the Barakat Clan, an extended family that officials say has close ties to Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Argentina's Justice Minister Germán Garavano said adding Hezbollah to terror list was necessary to ensure such terrorist attacks do not happen again. In an exclusive interview with i24NEWS, a global news channel based in Israel, Garavano said: "This measure essentially has a preventive role to create deterrence and to create tools that did not exist in our country at the time, and most of all to detect what could be called preliminary movements or small actions such as the collecting of funds for activities in other countries or money that circulates around our country."
US and Argentine officials say Hezbollah operates in what is known as the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, where an illicit economy funds its operations elsewhere.
Argentina's decision to freeze Hezbollah assets and join the United States in designating it a terrorist group is a significant win for President Donald Trump's administration as it seeks to increase pressure on Tehran and its proxies.
The financial impact on Hezbollah will likely be insignificant because it has other sources of funding, said Seth Jones, director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"What the administration is hoping is that even taking little bites out of the apple right now may end up being significant in the long run if they can continue to freeze assets of organizations like Hezbollah in a range of different countries," Jones said.
Other US allies that designate Hezbollah or its military wing a terrorist organization include Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union and Israel.
