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alarabiya – The Trump administration on Thursday announced a new round of sanctions targeting Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, ramping up pressure on Tehran to return to nuclear negotiations and cracking down on its proxies across the Middle East.
“As President Trump has made clear, Iran’s behavior has left it decimated. While it has had every opportunity to choose peace, its leaders have chosen extremism,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The latest sanctions focused primarily on networks accused of facilitating the transport and purchase of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil, much of which, the Treasury Department said, benefited Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF).
Among those designated was Iraqi businessman Salim Ahmed Said, who was accused of helping smuggle Iranian oil by disguising it as, or blending it with, Iraqi crude.
Several ships identified as part of Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet,” used to covertly deliver sanctioned oil, were also blacklisted.Middle EastLebanon risks losing US support over delays on Hezbollah, economic reforms
“Treasury will continue to target Tehran’s revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime’s access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilizing activities,” Bessent said.
Hezbollah trying to regroup
Separately, the Treasury Department also designated seven senior Hezbollah officials and one entity associated with the financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH).
Treasury said the move underscores a commitment to disrupting the group’s sanctions evasion schemes and supporting efforts by the new Lebanese government to limit Hezbollah’s influence.
“Through their roles at AQAH, these officials sought to obfuscate Hezbollah’s interest in seemingly legitimate transactions at Lebanese financial institutions, exposing these banks to significant AML/CFT risk while allowing Hezbollah to funnel money for its own benefit,” said Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender. “As Hezbollah seeks money to rebuild its operations, Treasury remains strongly committed to dismantling the group’s financial infrastructure and limiting its ability to reconstitute itself,” he added.
State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that Washington remains committed to supporting Lebanon by disrupting schemes that empower Hezbollah’s destabilizing influence. “We will continue to employ all available tools to ensure that this terrorist group no longer poses a threat to the Lebanese people and the region,” she said.
