New US sanctions on Hezbollah go beyond targeting money-transfer networks, signaling a broader shift in Washington’s approach to the group and its relationship with the Lebanese state. By relisting Hezbollah on its sanctions list and targeting a network accused of moving millions of dollars to the group, Washington is stepping up pressure on Hezbollah while putting Lebanese institutions to a sensitive test: whether they can tighten oversight of money flows and transfers and meet their obligations without worsening the country’s internal crisis. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on 10 people “that are part of a network responsible for transferring cash to Hezbollah.” “The network utilizes couriers travelling on commercial airline flights between Lebanon, Türkiye, 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,” it said. OFAC also re-designated Hezbollah “for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF).” Lebanese institutions under scrutiny The US move is unlikely to stop with the targeted individuals and entities. It puts Lebanese banks, financial institutions, and regulatory bodies under closer US scrutiny, testing their ability to detect financial activity that could be linked to Hezbollah, its institutions, or its networks. An official Lebanese source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the sanctions “pose challenges for the Lebanese state and its security, judicial and financial institutions.” The source said the “tough US measures require tighter oversight of any assets linked to Hezbollah and its institutions, because any delay in doing so could leave the state facing consequences it can ill afford.” OFAC said that “Hezbollah 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.” The US Treasury linked the targeted network to Behnam Shahriyari, a former Quds Force finance official, saying it was “one example of the methods used to funnel support to terrorist proxy groups throughout the region.” Beyond Lebanese framework But the strongest message in the sanctions, according to one Lebanese political reading, is directed at Lebanon itself. Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, said the latest measures differ from previous sanctions because Washington is “dealing with Hezbollah under a new classification that places it outside the traditional Lebanese framework and presents it as an Iranian faction and part of the broader US confrontation with Iran.” Nader told Asharq Al-Awsat that the shift “will have repercussions inside Lebanon and for the authorities and official institutions, particularly in light of the political and even financial relationship linking the group to some Lebanese factions.” Under the new US approach, he said, Hezbollah “is no longer viewed as a representative of the Shiite community, but as an Iranian faction occupying Lebanon.” He said the implications could extend well beyond financial sanctions. “Any party dealing with Hezbollah could be viewed by the United States as being involved in dealings with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards,” Nader said, adding that this could trigger “political and legal repercussions that go beyond direct financial sanctions.” The effects of the new approach also extend into the political and diplomatic sphere, particularly Lebanese-Israeli negotiations. Nader said tougher sanctions “could give Washington greater room to manage negotiations with Israel, allowing it to pressure Hezbollah” and “keeping the issue of ending Hezbollah’s influence part of the broader US confrontation with Iran.” Europe’s response in focus Attention is also turning to Europe and whether it will follow Washington’s lead. Nader pointed to what he called “the recent hardening of the French and British positions toward Iran.” “If the US approach extends to Europe, Lebanon could find itself entering a more complicated phase,” he said. In that case, compliance with international sanctions would become “not merely a political choice, but an additional test of the state’s ability to protect its financial system and institutions from the repercussions of a regional and international conflict that extends beyond its borders,” he explained. Hezbollah rejects US designation Hezbollah rejected the US position, saying the claim that it is under the control of the Quds Force was merely a pretext for relisting it under sanctions. The party described the move as “part of the continued policies of US administrations to target the resistance, its community, its support base and to besiege them and exert political, financial and security pressure on them.” Hezbollah said Washington “continues to deal with Lebanon from a position of tutelage.” It accused the US of choosing, instead of pressuring Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon and halt its attacks, to “besiege the Lebanese and work to strip Lebanon of all sources of strength.” On its relationship with Iran, Hezbollah said: “Our close and brotherly relationship with Iran is one we cherish and take pride in.” But it stressed that it “does not await anyone’s certification of its Lebanese identity or patriotism.” The party said sanctions and designations “will not deter us from adhering to the option of resistance and to the right of Lebanon and the Lebanese people to defend their land, sovereignty, and resources.”
