The British government is under renewed pressure to outlaw Hezbollah in the UK by making no distinction between its military and political wings. David Ibsen, the executive director of the Counter Extremism Project, said that Hezbollah itself does not recognise a distinction between these entities and emphasised the need for “a new realism in the UK about the nature of Hezbollah.” “There is no ‘military’ and ‘political’ wings of Hezbollah, it is one pernicious terrorist organisation founded and bankrolled by Iran. Hezbollah’s top officials brazenly acknowledge this fact.” Ibsen said: “Thousands of Hezbollah fighters made the crucial difference in Syria for Bashar al-Assad and have trained Houthi rebels in Yemen on behalf of their Iranian benefactors.”