The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on an alleged financial network accused of channelling funds to Hezbollah.
It also strengthened its description of the Lebanese group’s relationship with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The US Treasury Department announced the measures on Thursday, saying Hezbollah’s legal designation had been updated to reflect what Washington described as the group’s role in supporting the Iranian regime under the direction of the Revolutionary Guard, particularly its elite Quds Force.
The move comes as the United States works to facilitate direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, which remain technically at war. Hezbollah has rejected the talks.
Washington first designated Hezbollah a “foreign terrorist organisation” in 1997 and later classified it as a “specially designated global terrorist” group in 2001.
A State Department official said the latest change was intended to make clear that Washington views Hezbollah as an Iranian proxy rather than an independent organisation.
The official said the designation “specifies that Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, not a stand-alone operation as implied by the previous designation.”
“This underscores that Hezbollah operates with little to no regard for Lebanese sovereignty, the Lebanese people, or the Lebanese state,” the official added.
Hezbollah became directly involved in the wider Middle East conflict in March after launching rocket attacks against Israel in support of Iran, its principal backer.
Israel subsequently carried out extensive airstrikes and a ground offensive in Lebanon. Lebanese authorities say the Israeli military campaign has resulted in more than 4,300 deaths.
The State Department said the latest action was based on years of US sanctions and intelligence assessments documenting what it described as close operational, financial and logistical links between Hezbollah and the IRGC’s Quds Force.
The official described Hezbollah as “an extension” of the Iranian force and rejected the group’s characterisation of itself as a Lebanese resistance organisation.
“It is not a Lebanese resistance movement,” the official said.
The new Treasury measures target 10 individuals allegedly involved in a financial network that moves money to Hezbollah.
According to the department, the network allegedly relies on couriers travelling on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Iran to transport large amounts of cash.
“The network utilises couriers travelling on commercial airline flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE, and Iran to move up to hundreds of millions of dollars between jurisdictions, providing an avenue outside the formal financial system for Hezbollah to obtain foreign currency and evade sanctions,” the Treasury Department said.