Washington, 21 March (H.S.): The United States ramped up its campaign against Iran-backed militants Saturday, hitting a sprawling financial network tied to Hezbollah with fresh sanctions designed to choke off millions in funding for terrorism.
In a coordinated move by the State Department and Treasury, officials targeted 16 individuals and entities accused of laundering over $100 million since 2020 to bankroll Hezbollah's operations.
The group, labeled a foreign terrorist organization by Washington, relies on this shadowy web of companies spanning Lebanon, Syria, Poland, Slovenia, Qatar, and Canada, according to a Treasury statement.
Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesperson for the State Department, laid it out bluntly: Today, the United States is imposing sanctions to disrupt a global financial network that supports Hizballah. This action targets individuals and entities involved in laundering and raising funds for Hizballah's finance team through a range of companies and projects operating across the Middle East, Europe, and North America.
At the center is Alaa Hassan Hamieh, a former Lebanese public investment official turned Hezbollah financier. He directs a family-and-associate-controlled empire of firms that funnel cash into the group's coffers, often through legitimate-looking economic ventures.
By cutting off these financial channels, the United States is taking concrete steps to limit Hezbollah's ability to generate revenue for terrorism and evade sanctions, Pigott added.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn't mince words either, calling Iran the head of the snake when it comes to global terrorism and its proxies like Hezbollah the muscle sowing chaos.
Hizballah continues to divert funds that rightfully belong to the Lebanese people to finance its terrorist operations, he said in the department's release. The sanctions freeze any US-held assets of those designated and bar American persons from dealing with them, unless licensed by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
