The US and Saudi Arabia on Friday (May 19th) issued their first "joint terrorist designation", blacklisting Hizbullah leader Hashem Safieddine, AFP reported.
Safieddine is head of the executive council of Iran-backed Hizbullah, which the US has branded a "foreign terrorist organisation".
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia joined the United States in designating Hashem Safieddine," the US State Department said in a statement.
"As a result, any of his assets held in Saudi Arabia are frozen, and transfers through the kingdom's financial sector, are prohibited."
Separately, the department's Bureau of Counterterrorism said this marked the "first-ever" State Department and foreign nation "joint terrorist designation".
"The action against Safieddine is the latest example of the strong partnership between the US and Saudi Arabia in combatting the financing of terrorism," the State Department said.
Safieddine is the head of Hizbullah’s executive council, which runs the group's political affairs. He is a cousin of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and is spoken of as a potential candidate to succeed him.
In the same statement, the State Department also added Muhammad al-Isawi -- whom it said had taken over the leadership of the Sinai branch of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) in August 2016 -- to the sanctions list.
As "specially designated global terrorists", Safieddine and al-Isawi will see any assets they hold in areas under US jurisdiction frozen, and US citizens will be forbidden from dealings with them.
Separately, the US Treasury added two Yemeni tribal leaders, Hashim Muhsin Aydarus al-Hamid and Khalid Ali Mabkhut al-Aradah, to its own sanctions list, branding them leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
