BEIRUT

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group on Friday condemned the U.K.’s decision this week to add it to its list of “terrorist groups”.

"No country in the world that embraces, finances and supports terrorism has the right to accuse the party [i.e., Hezbollah], or any resistance movement, of terrorism," Hezbollah said in a statement.

The move, the group added, “reveals how the British government is only a follower in the service of its American master”.

On Thursday, Britain’s parliament voted to officially label Hezbollah as a “terrorist group”.

As of next Monday, membership in -- or support for -- the group will be considered a criminal offense in the U.K., carrying sentences of up to ten years in prison.

Writing By Mahmoud Barakat