U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Financial Networks Supporting Hezbollah and Iraq Militias
The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on networks funding Hezbollah and Kataib Hezbollah, targeting financial hubs across the Middle East to disrupt Iranian proxy financing.
The U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on Thursday targeting networks aiding Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq, as part of an economic isolation campaign designed to sever the funding sources of the Iranian regime and its proxies.
The measures targeted militia commanders, arms dealers, front companies, and financial and gold transfer networks operating in Iraq, Lebanon, the UAE, and Turkey. According to the U.S. Treasury, Lebanese money changers transferred hundreds of millions of dollars from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Hezbollah, used inter alia to purchase weapons and pay salaries.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated: "We will find them, cut them off from the U.S. financial system, and dismantle the networks keeping the regime alive."
Simultaneously, the administration significantly tightened its licensing policy for transactions with Iran, announcing that most applications will be denied until Tehran changes its behavior. Among other things, the administration addressed the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, attacks on U.S. forces, and the continued development of nuclear and conventional weapons.
