US Slaps Sanctions on Lebanese Hizbullah Supporters, Bank

The US Treasury Department has slapped new sanctions on seven Lebanese men with alleged contacts to the Iran-backed Hizbullah movement. The sanctions also extend to Hizbullah’s “benevolent lending” bank, Al-Qard al-Hasan, which allegedly launders funds used for terror activities. The men are accused of funneling $500 million through the bank for Hizbullah in order to evade previous sanctions against the organization. Ibrahim Ali Daher, who serves as the chief of Hizbullah’s Central Finance Unit, which oversees Hizballah’s overall budget and spending including the group’s funding of its terrorist operations and killing of the group’s opponents, is one of the Lebanese men being sanctioned. The other six individuals designated on Tuesday “used the cover of personal accounts at certain Lebanese banks” to transfer the half-billion dollars through the bank. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “the threat that Hizbullah poses to the United States, our allies, and interests in the Middle East and globally, calls for countries around the world to take steps to restrict its activities and disrupt its facilitation networks.” Under the sanctions, US individuals and businesses are prohibited from doing business with the men or the bank.