 [DW] Germany will not declare Leb's Hezbollah movement a terrorist organization, a top official said Friday.
Minister of State Niels Annen told newsmagazine Der Spiegel that the Iran-backed Shiite Islamist movement is a relevant factor in Lebanese society and part of the complex political landscape in the country.
The comments come after Britannia last month banned Hezbollah's political wing, accusing the movement of destabilizing the Middle East.
"The British move is a national decision that has no direct impact on the position of the German government or the EU," said Annen, a top Foreign Ministry official.
The European Union
 ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
had already added Hezbollah's military wing to a list of banned murderous Moslems groups in 2013.
Hezbollah is represented in the Lebanese parliament and holds three of 30 ministries in the government led by Western-backed Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.
The movement's armed wing has expanded its influence in recent years in Leb and Syria, where alongside Iran and Russia it backs the regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
. In Leb, it is considered to be more powerful than the Lebanese army.
Annen, who spoke to Der Spiegel after a visit to Leb, rejected US criticism that Germany was not doing enough to counter Iran's influence in the region. He said Berlin's foreign policy remained focused on finding political solutions to complex situations.
Germany and the EU have sought to save the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, setting up an alternative financing mechanism to allow trade with Tehran despite unilateral US sanctions.
Leb is host to nearly 1 million Syrian refugees, some of whom have started to return home as the war in the country winds down. The humanitarian crisis has made the safe return of Syrian refugees an important issue for Germany. 
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