U.S. Designates Turkish Hizbullah as Terror Entity
Washington quietly adds Erdogan ally, Turkish Hizbullah, to its Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL) exposing NATO members deepening ties to Iran-backed networks threatening Israeli and Western security
The United States Department of State has designated Turkish Hizbullah as a terrorist entity on its Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL). The November designation, effectively empowers U.S. authorities to bar or deport any foreign national associated with the group, marking a rare public rebuke of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political alliance with violent Islamist factions.
From Underground Terror Cell to Political Partner
Turkish Hizbullah, unrelated to its Lebanese namesake despite shared connections to Iran, emerged in the 1980s as a Sunni Kurdish Islamist group that waged a brutal campaign of assassinations, kidnappings and torture across Turkey’s southeast. The organization reached its violent apex in the 1990s, when police raids uncovered secret execution chambers and hours of videotaped torture sessions, earning the group international notoriety.
The group’s transformation from an underground militant organization to a legitimate political actor began with a secret 2014 deal with Erdogan. In exchange for electoral support, the Turkish president orchestrated the release of imprisoned Hizbullah members convicted of violent crimes. By 2023, the group’s political arm, the Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR), had formally joined Erdogan’s electoral alliance, fielding candidates under his Justice and Development Party (AKP) banner, the first appearance of Hizbullah-linked figures on Turkey’s national ballot.
Erdogan fulfilled his end of the bargain systematically. In August 2022 alone, 19 militants serving aggravated life sentences for 91 murders were freed through government-arranged releases. To date, approximately 400 Hizbullah members have been released from Turkish prisons through mechanisms facilitated by the government, while opposition politicians, journalists and critics continue to face harsher treatment and wrongful imprisonment.
The Iranian Connection
The most alarming dimension of Turkish Hizbullah’s rehabilitation is its documented operational relationship with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. Confidential police and military intelligence documents previously published reveal monthly payments of approximately $100,000 from Iran to Hizbullah, along with larger lump-sum transfers for special operations.
More troubling still, these documents indicated that Iran established a Hizbollah espionage unit tasked with surveillance of military installations in Turkey, including NATO-linked radar bases in Malatya province. Hizbullah operatives reportedly collected video footage of sensitive facilities and passed intelligence to Iranian handlers, a direct compromise of NATO security infrastructure.
Despite this intelligence, the Erdogan government shut down the investigation into Hizbullah’s Iranian connections. The prosecutor leading the Quds Force inquiry was dismissed, case files were buried, and the probe was formally closed, illustrating how Turkish Hizbullah has evolved from a purely domestic actor into a regional ideological ally for Iran-backed networks.
A Leader Calling for Global Jihad Against Jews
Turkish Hizbullah’s contemporary leadership remains ideologically militant and explicitly threatening to Israeli security. The organization’s supreme religious leader, Edip Gümüş, a fugitive believed to be residing in Iran, in 2023 called for a global jihad against Jews, pledging arms and funds for anti-Israel operations. The organization has hosted Hamas representatives in Turkey, participated in anti-Israel demonstrations coordinated by pro-government municipalities, and staged rallies in front of the U.S. Embassy and consulates as well as NATO installations.
The group controls an extensive network of entities in Turkey and abroad, including media outlets (Doğru Haber, ÜLKHA news wire, Rehber TV), charitable foundations, and overseas fronts in Europe where large Turkish and Kurdish diaspora communities reside. In Germany, the charity Orphans Help e.V. is allegedly linked to Turkish Hizbullah’s European network.
Turkey: A NATO Ally Embracing Hamas
Turkish Hizbullah represents merely one symptom of Ankara’s broader embrace of terrorist organizations. Turkey has long provided safe haven for Hamas leadership, with Erdogan openly declaring in 2023 that “Hamas is not a terrorist organization…[but rather] a liberation group, ‘mujahideen’ waging a battle to protect its lands and people.”
Following the October 7, 2023 massacre, Turkey threw its government’s support behind Hamas. In December 2023, Israeli authorities seized illicit goods from a Turkish ship including weapons and components hidden inside industrial equipment, destined for the West Bank. In March 2024, Israel’s Shin Bet thwarted a terrorist plot inside Israel planned by Hamas operatives in Turkey, arresting operatives who admitted to being recruited by Turkey-based Hamas commanders.
Bipartisan members of the US Congress have raised concerns over Turkey’s ties to Hamas, with 39 Congress members signing a letter in December 2024 calling on Turkey to deny safe haven to Hamas leaders.