Statement issued by Hezbollah in response to US sanctions: The sanctions issued by the US Departments of State and Treasury that targeted Lebanese representatives elected by the people, officers in the army and public security, and officials in Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, are an American attempt to intimidate the free Lebanese people in order to support the Zionist aggression against our country, and to give it an imaginary political dose after its crimes failed to discourage the Lebanese from exercising their legitimate right to resist in defense of their homeland. The accusation made by the American administration against our representatives and officials is the refusal to disarm the resistance and to confront the surrender projects that the American administration is trying to drag our country into for the benefit of the Zionist entity, and this accusation affects the majority of the people who adhere to the resistance and refuse to surrender. These sanctions are a badge of honor on the chest of those affected by them, and an additional confirmation of the correctness of our choice. In their effects, they are not equal to the ink with which they were written, and they will not have any practical impact on our choices and on the continuation of the work of our brothers and officials within the framework of serving their people and defending their interests and sovereignty. As for the decision targeting Lebanese officers on the eve of the meetings at the Pentagon, it is an open attempt to intimidate our official security institutions and subject the state to the conditions of American guardianship. This decision is drawn up by those who claim to be friends with the United States, which seeks to undermine national institutions. The Lebanese authority must defend its constitutional, security and military institutions, in order to preserve national sovereignty and the dignity of Lebanon and the Lebanese.