US Sanctions Iran-Backed Hezbollah Officials As Tensions With Tehran Continue

The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions Tuesday on three Hezbollah officials accused of carrying out “Iran’s bidding.”

“[Hezbollah] uses its operatives in Lebanon’s parliament to manipulate institutions in support of the terrorist group’s financial and security interests, and to bolster Iran’s malign activities,” Sigal Mandelker, Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.

The sanctions come after an Iranian official recently said the country raised uranium enrichment levels, something the shaky 2015 Iran nuclear deal was meant to prevent.

“[The organization] threatens the economic stability and security of Lebanon and the wider region, all at a cost to the Lebanese people. The United States will continue to support efforts of the Lebanese government to protect its institutions from exploitation by Iran and its terrorist proxies, and to secure a more peaceful and prosperous future for Lebanon,” Mandelker continued.

Treasury sanctioned Lebanese Parliament members Amin Sherri and Muhammad Hasan Ra’d and Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa.

The State Department first designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization in October 1997. Its ties to Iran are evidenced by the major expenditure cuts it was forced to make as a direct result of President Donald Trump’s 2018 sanctions on Iran.