The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday the 10th new sanctions against networks accused of financing and supporting Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq and Lebanese Hezbollah, as part of Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign aimed at intensifying economic pressure on Iran.
According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the measures target commanders and members of Kataib Hezbollah, businessmen, money exchange houses, and companies operating in Iraq, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey. The Treasury states that these networks help Tehran finance allied groups, move resources, and circumvent international sanctions.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Washington intends to identify and remove from the American financial system agents who finance “terror,” launder money, or assist Iran in evading sanctions.
Among the targets are four members of Kataib Hezbollah and individuals linked to the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces. OFAC also sanctioned Shams & Bahr Trading Company, of Dubai, accused of transferring millions of dollars from Iraq to Iran through an informal remittance system known as hawala.
In Lebanon, Washington targeted financial operators accused of transferring hundreds of millions of dollars from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force (IRGC) to Hezbollah and of using money exchange houses, gold, and money couriers to move resources.
