The US Justice Department announced on Thursday plans to create a special task force to crack down on what it dubbed “narcoterrorism” by the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah. The unit will be made up of specialists in money laundering, drug trafficking and terrorism, the department said. “The ‘Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team’ will begin by assessing the evidence in existing investigations, including cases stemming from Project Cassandra, a law enforcement initiative targeting Hezbollah’s drug trafficking and related operations,” the department said. US President Donald Trump is due to decide on Friday whether to renew his country’s waiver on nuclear-related sanctions, as well as decide on Saturday over whether to renew his certification of the Iran deal. On Thursday, EU leaders met with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to the urge the US not to walk away from the accord.

Source: Egypt Independent January 12, 2018 08:03 UTC