The U.S. and Qatar together sanctioned seven individuals for supporting a financial network of the Islamist political party and militant group Hezbollah in the Arabian Peninsula.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement Wednesday that Qatari nationals Ali Reda Hassan al-Banai, Ali Reda al-Qassabi Lari and Abd al-Muayyid al-Banaiare were among the seven it identified as Specially Designated Global Terrorists for supporting Hezbollah financially or materially.
Treasury Department official Andrea Gacki accused Hezbollah of trying to “abuse the international financial system by developing global networks of financiers to fill its coffers and support its terrorist activity.”
“The cross-border nature of this Hezbollah financial network underscores the importance of our continued cooperation with international partners, such as the Government of Qatar, to protect the U.S. and international financial systems from terrorist abuse,” Gacki added in the statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Treasury Department’s action was “one of the most significant joint actions” the U.S. has taken with a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and he called on other countries to also target Hezbollah.
The Treasury Department statement said the sanctions froze any U.S. assets the targets hold and generally prohibits Americans from conducting business with them.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah, which the U.S. and several other Western countries consider a terrorist group.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters provided some information for this report.
