By Mike Wagenheim, JNS
Treasury will “hold accountable those who enable the group to undermine the Lebanese state and threaten prospects for lasting peace,” the U.S. treasury secretary said.
The Trump administration issued sanctions on Thursday against Lebanese officials aligned with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror group that controls Southern Lebanon, marking the first such action since the signing of an agreement between Washington and Tehran.
The move came ahead of another round of direct Israel-Lebanon security talks in Washington, D.C., as Jerusalem and Beirut seek ways to remove Hezbollah forces from areas within striking range of Israel’s northern border.
“Hezbollah must disarm for Lebanon to achieve a secure and prosperous future,” Scott Bessent, U.S. treasury secretary, said. “Treasury will continue to target Hezbollah’s financial networks and hold accountable those who enable the group to undermine the Lebanese state and threaten prospects for lasting peace.”
Those sanctioned include Sleiman Antoine Frangie, leader of the Lebanese Marada Movement. The Treasury Department said Frangie “has used his strategic alliance with Hezbollah to benefit his own political ambitions,” including by accepting financial support from the terror group in exchange for helping it challenge more moderate members of parliament for their seats.
Mahmoud Qamati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, was also designated for coordinating cash smuggling from Iran.
The sanctions also targeted members of a Hezbollah-linked business network overseen by Alaa Hassan Hamieh, largely for financial ties to previously designated individuals and companies.
The network includes companies and associates operating across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Oman, with activities tied to real estate, insurance and technology sectors, including dealings with the regime of since-deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
