The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions Thursday on 10 individuals tied to a network that moves hundreds of millions of dollars in cash to Hizballah using couriers on commercial airline flights, and re-designated Hizballah itself under updated counterterrorism authority linking the group directly to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.
The network operates by sending couriers on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, moving large quantities of cash outside the formal financial system to help Hizballah obtain foreign currency and evade existing sanctions. The network was once associated with now-deceased IRGC-QF finance official Behnam Shahriyari and represents one of multiple methods Iran and its proxies use to move funds around international sanctions regimes. Turkish authorities collaborated with the United States in the investigation and disruption of the network.
OFAC also re-designated Hizballah under Executive Order 13224, as amended, citing the IRGC-QF’s coordination of Hizballah attacks and deep involvement in directing the group’s political decision-making. The re-designation formally reflects Hizballah’s status as an entity owned, controlled or directed by the IRGC-QF.
The action came one day after President Trump announced the United States would pursue economic pressure against Iran on what he described as an unprecedented scale, warning other countries they would face consequences for providing any economic lifeline to the Iranian regime.
“Hizballah and its allies exploit financing schemes including oil smuggling, illicit shipping, commodities sales, and bulk cash smuggling to generate and move funds across the region,” Treasury said in its announcement.
Under the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated individuals within U.S. jurisdiction are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with the designated parties, and foreign financial institutions engaging in certain transactions with them may face secondary sanctions.