US Slaps Sanctions on 3 Businessmen in Lebanon for Links to Hizbullah

The United States has placed sanctions on three businessmen in Lebanon who are linked to Hizbullah. The US designated Hizbullah as a terrorist organization in 1997, a label that the group denies. The Treasury Department on Tuesday placed the men on a US sanctions list for providing material assistance to Hizbullah. They have been named as Adel Diab, Ali Mohamad Daoun and Jihad Salem Alame, and their Lebanon-based travel company, Dar Al Salam for Travel & Tourism. The sanctions freeze the men’s assets in the United States and make it criminal for American citizens to do business with them. “Through businessmen like those designated today, Hizbullah gains access to material and financial support through the legitimate commercial sector to fund its acts of terrorism and attempts to destabilize Lebanon’s political institutions,” the Treasury Department said in a statement issued Tuesday to announce the new sanctions. Hizbullah is part of the Lebanese government, and last week announced that it would end a three-month boycott of Cabinet meetings.