Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Monday denied any activities of his party in Germany, days after Berlin banned all party activities and announced raids in several mosques, in a move he considered "subordination" to the United States.
He said in a televised address to the Lebanese, "When we say we have no organization in Germany, we are one hundred percent honest," considering that what was issued was "a political decision and an expression of German submission to the American will and to satisfy Israel."
Nasrallah added that Germany's decision last week would not deter the group from confronting its enemies.
On Thursday, the German government announced a ban on all Hezbollah activities on its soil, and its police raided several mosques and centers it said were linked to the party, in a move welcomed by the United States and Israel and condemned by Iran.
The activities of Hezbollah's military wing - which the European Union considers a terrorist movement - were prohibited, but not the activities of its political wing.
Nasrallah stressed that "what the Ministry of the Interior has done is condemned" in terms of "raiding some mosques and some association centers," describing it as "brutal practices."
He added, "It is expected that other European countries will adopt a resolution of the same type," stressing at the same time that "for many years, we have no longer adopted regulations for us in the countries of the world and European countries, especially Latin America and others."
He called on the Lebanese government to carry out its duties, considering that it is "concerned with the protection of its citizens in Germany."
The German authorities have estimated the number of Hezbollah members who are accused by the Internal Intelligence of collecting donations, recruiting supporters, and organizing demonstrations calling for the destruction of Israel by about one thousand people.
Berlin's decision comes after American and Israeli calls in this regard, and Richard Grenelle, the former US ambassador to Germany, the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, called in Germany in September to ban the party's political activity on its soil, as Britain and the Netherlands did.