US sanctions Iranian, Hezbollah financial network

The US announced new sanctions on Wednesday against two companies based in Lebanon and another in Turkey for their links to Iran-backed Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

“The IRGC-QF and its proxy network persist in their attempts to generate revenue from illicit commercial activity that funds terrorism and destabilizing activities in the region,” State Department Spokesman Matt Miller said.

The Treasury Department said the sanctioned companies had generated hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of revenue from selling Iranian commodities, including to the Syrian government.

“Today’s action underscores our resolve to prevent the IRGC-QF and its proxy terrorist groups from exploiting the international trading system to fund their destabilizing activities,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson.

A senior US Treasury official told Reuters that Washington expects Iraq’s government to help it identify and disrupt the financing of Iran-backed militias in the country after an attack by Iraqi militants killed three US soldiers and wounded dozens more in Jordan last weekend.