US sanctions 10 Hezbollah financiers, designates group as Iranian proxy

The United States has imposed sanctions on 10 individuals accused of operating a financial network for Lebanon's Hezbollah, designating the group as an Iranian proxy. The US Treasury Department announced the measures Thursday, targeting those who allegedly facilitated Hezbollah's fundraising and sanctions evasion.

According to the Treasury, these individuals are suspected of transporting hundreds of millions of dollars using commercial flights. Their alleged activities spanned routes between Lebanon, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran. The network is said to have provided Hezbollah with a channel to procure foreign currency outside of official financial systems, thereby circumventing US sanctions.

“

This network provided Hezbollah with a channel to procure foreign currency outside of official financial systems and evade US sanctions.

The sanctioned individuals include Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz, who reportedly managed the cash-carrying network, along with nine couriers and logistics personnel. Yilmaz is accused of using front companies and bank accounts to facilitate illicit transactions and transfer funds linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. The network was also reportedly connected to Benam Shahriyari, a former IRGC Quds Force financial official who has since died.

The Treasury Department stated that Hezbollah and its allies finance and move funds through various illicit means, including oil smuggling, illegal shipping, commodity sales, and large-scale cash smuggling. By re-designating Hezbollah as an entity operating under the command of the Quds Force and acting on behalf of the Iranian regime, the US aims to further isolate the group financially. Assets held by the sanctioned individuals or entities they control will be frozen.

“

Hezbollah and its allies are raising and moving funds through oil smuggling, illegal shipping, commodity sales, and large-scale cash smuggling.