US Sanctions Squeeze Hezbollah's Financial Networks

The United States has placed sanctions on a network in Lebanon that helps funnel millions to Hezbollah. The sanctions target individuals and companies linked to Hezbollah's financial operations and the captagon trade, highlighting Hezbollah's destabilizing influence in Lebanon and the region.

The United States intensified its crackdown on Hezbollah by imposing sanctions on a Lebanon-based network accused of evading financial restrictions and funneling millions of dollars to the militant group. This move, announced on Tuesday, targeted three individuals associated with Hezbollah's financial operations.

The sanctions also extend to four Lebanon-based companies that were registered to obscure their connections to Hezbollah, as detailed in a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department. Additionally, three individuals linked to the captagon trade, which allegedly funds the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies, including Hezbollah, have also been sanctioned.

"Today's action emphasizes Hezbollah's destabilizing role within Lebanon and across the wider region," remarked Bradley T. Smith, acting undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence. The group's financing of operations through covert commercial trades and illicit captagon trafficking remains a significant concern.

(With inputs from agencies.)