US sanctions Hezbollah operatives exploiting Lebanon’s financial network

According to the Treasury, Hezbollah has long exploited Lebanon’s cash-based financial system, using money exchange houses to disguise the movement of illicit funds as legitimate business. These funds are used to rebuild the group’s paramilitary capabilities and finance its terrorist infrastructure.

"Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous, and secure, but that can only happen if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran’s funding and control,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley. “We will work with our Lebanese partners to create a resilient economy that puts the interests of all Lebanese citizens front and center.”

The sanctions focus on Hezbollah’s financial operatives responsible for moving funds from Iran into Lebanon. Treasury officials say both licensed and unlicensed money exchanges were used to route the proceeds of covert oil and commodity sales.

Since January 2025, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) has transferred more than $1 billion to Hezbollah, mostly through informal exchange channels.

Among those sanctioned is Ossama Jaber, a Hezbollah member who allegedly managed millions in cash transfers between September 2024 and February 2025 via networks tied to the group.

Hezbollah’s financial network has been under pressure since the December 2024 collapse of Syria’s Assad regime, which for decades served as a key logistical corridor between Tehran and Beirut.

Following the death of longtime finance chief Muhammad Qasir, his duties were divided among his son Ja’far Muhammad Qasir and nephew ‘Ali Qasir, both now key figures in the group’s funding apparatus.

In mid-2025, the Qasir family worked to reclaim a US-blocked oil tanker, the Arman 114, formerly known as the Adrian Darya 1, which had been seized by Indonesia for carrying Iranian crude under a Hezbollah front company.

OFAC also designated Syrian businessman Yasar Husayn Ibrahim and Samer Kasbar, the latter a director at Hezbollah-linked Hokoul SAL Offshore Company, for facilitating oil, gas, and metal exports that benefited the group.

The individuals sanctioned under Executive Order 13224 are accused of providing material and financial support to Hezbollah, which has been listed by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997.

According to the Treasury Department, all property and interests of the designated individuals within US jurisdiction are now frozen, and US persons are prohibited from conducting transactions with them. Entities owned 50 percent or more by any sanctioned individual are likewise blocked.

OFAC warned that foreign banks engaging with Hezbollah-linked entities could face secondary sanctions, including restrictions on their access to the US financial system. The agency reiterated that while sanctions are a powerful deterrent, their ultimate goal is to promote behavioral change, not punishment.

The sanctions come amid renewed military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a series of airstrikes targeting weapon depots and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in southern Lebanon.

The strikes centered on several towns between Kfar Dounine and Tayr Debba, just miles from the Israeli border, followed evacuation warnings issued by the IDF. According to Lebanese authorities, at least one person was killed and another wounded in the attacks.

An IDF spokesperson said the targeted depots were “located in the heart of a civilian population,” accusing Hezbollah of “using Lebanese civilians as human shields.” The military added that it took measures to minimize civilian harm, including precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and evacuation orders.

Israeli officials warned the strikes were “just a preview” of broader operations to come if Hezbollah is not disarmed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly convened his security cabinet Thursday evening to discuss what Israeli intelligence views as the group’s renewed efforts to rebuild its arsenal in violation of the November 2024 ceasefire.

According to The Times of Israel, Jerusalem has presented evidence of Hezbollah’s rearmament to both the United States and France, who co-chair the international mechanism overseeing the ceasefire.

Hezbollah attacked Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after the Oct 7 massacre. Israel retaliated with airstrikes and a limited ground incursion. Israel eliminated the terror groups leadership in a bold operation using the group's pagers and other communication devices, as well as targeted airstrikes. A ceasefire was later declared after Hezbollah was left severely weakened.

The Lebanese army has drawn up a plan to disarm the terror group and has used so much ordnance to blow up Hezbollah stockpiles that it has faced shortages of armaments.

Hezbollah has vowed not to disarm.