US targets Hezbollah with fresh sanctions

The US will imminently issue fresh sanctions targeting Lebanon’s Hezbollah, including re-designating it under a terrorism authority, according to a statement, in a move aimed at emphasising its links to the Iranian government.

While Hezbollah is not being designated under any new authority, the Treasury Department is re-designating it as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist “for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force”, according to the statement.

A US official said that the re-designation was intended to show that Hezbollah was acting on behalf of the Iranian government and updated the public record to link the designation to Hezbollah’s actions on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.

Hezbollah was first designated under the authority in 2001 and is also sanctioned by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. The US also designated a group of 10 people on Thursday that it accused of smuggling cash for Hezbollah.

The US official said that the measures to be taken were separate to further action the US plans to take against Iran, as Washington looks to resolve a war it began alongside Israel nearly six ​months ago.

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said earlier on Thursday that he would hold a press conference on Monday about “the toughest sanctions in history” that Washington plans to impose on Iran.