Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, wrote a letter to the European Union’s High Representative Catherine Ashton calling for Europe to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. In the letter, Casey explained that Hezbollah deserves the label due to its alliances with Iran, the Assad regime and its own terrorist activities throughout the world.

The letter, sent on June 4 in advance of an E.U. meeting on the matter, urges “a swift and decisive designation, which would sever the organization’s financial ties to Europe and hamper its ability to brazenly commit acts of terror.”

“Cutting Hezbollah off from its financial enablers will hamper its ability to conduct operations and further isolate Iran from the international economic community,” Casey stated.

This initiative builds on a similar letter sent to Ashton last year that Casey spearheaded and that was signed by a bipartisan group of 75 senators.