US sanctions firms, persons linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah

The US sanctioned several Lebanese individuals and companies on Thursday for their work to facilitate funds to the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Ahmad Jalal Reda Abdallah and five of his associates were designated, along with eight of Abdallah’s companies in Lebanon and Iraq.

The Treasury Department accused Hezbollah of establishing companies with “opaque ownership structure” to conceal their involvement in the businesses.

“This action illuminates Hezbollah’s modus operandi of using the cover of seemingly legitimate businesses to generate revenue and leverage commercial investments across a multitude of sectors to secretly fund Hezbollah and its terrorist activities,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The US also said Hezbollah was hiding its participation in companies to hide its role in criminal activities such as altering medication labels for black market pharmaceutical sales.

State Department Spokesman Ned Price also said Hezbollah was disguising its ownership in companies. “Through actions like those carried out today, we continue to counter Hezbollah’s exploitation of businesses to fund its terrorist activities and its efforts to destabilize Lebanon and the wider region,” Price said.

Hezbollah was designated a terrorist organization by the US in 1997. Several European and Gulf nations followed suit years later.

Lebanon’s economy has been in crisis since 2019 when it collapsed under a mountain of debt. Its currency plunged to a new low last week, and swaths of the country have been driven into poverty.