The Trump administration on Thursday issued new sanctions targeting Hezbollah, measures that coincided with Israel ramping up its airstrikes on Lebanon.
The US Treasury Department said that it sanctioned individuals whom it accused of funneling tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hezbollah this year.
“Hezbollah uses these funds to support its paramilitary forces, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, and resist the Lebanese government’s efforts to assert sovereign control over all Lebanese territory,” the Treasury Department said.
The sanctions come as the US has been pressuring the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah and has provided additional military aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces. US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who has also been involved in negotiations with Lebanon, said in September that the US was arming the LAF to “fight their own people.”
Barrack has also been warning Lebanon that if it doesn’t move to disarm Hezbollah, it would face a “major war” with Israel. The Lebanese government has said it’s open to negotiations with Israel and that it wants Israel to comply with the November 2024 ceasefire deal that the IDF has constantly violated.
Israel has been threatening escalation in Lebanon for weeks and appeared to make good on that promise on Thursday with significant airstrikes against several towns and villages in southern Lebanon. According to Israeli officials, the strikes were coordinated with the US.
