![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/US_Imposes_Sanctions_on_3_Hezbollah_Officials_Accused_of_Supporting_Irans_Terrorist_Regime.jpg\" "\\"US_Imposes_Sanctions_on_3_Hezbollah_Officials_Accused_of_Supporting_Irans_Terrorist_Regime\\"")
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The United States imposed sanctions on three senior Hezbollah officials in Lebanon on Tuesday, accusing them of having a \u201cmalign agenda\u201d to support the Iranian regime.<\/p>\n
The sanctions were the first to directly target members of Lebanon\u2019s Parliament and underscored the White House\u2019s intention to ratchet up pressure on Iran’s regime by punishing groups with ties to Tehran, The New York Times wrote on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Treasury said MPs Amin Sherri and Muhammad Hasan Ra\u2019ad, members of the Loyalty to Resistance Bloc, acted on behalf of Hezbollah, which used its parliamentary power in Lebanon to advance its violent activities.<\/p>\n
OFAC released a photo of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, with his arm around Sherri\u2019s shoulder. The U.S. State Department added the IRGC to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in April 2019.<\/p>\n
The other man blacklisted is Wafiq Safa, a top Hezbollah official close to leader Hassan Nasrallah. The U.S. said Safa maintained the group\u2019s ties to financiers and arranged the smuggling of weapons and drugs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHezbollah uses its operatives in Lebanon\u2019s Parliament to manipulate institutions in support of the terrorist group\u2019s financial and security interests, and to bolster Iran\u2019s malign activities,\u201d Sigal Mandelker, the U.S. Treasury Department\u2019s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The newest sanctions brought to 50 the number of Hezbollah individuals and entities blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury since 2017.<\/p>\n
The move came as Washington steps up pressure on Iran’s regime and its \u201cproxies\u201d in the Middle East, including Hezbollah, which the U.S. accuses of encouraging \u201cterror\u201d attacks.<\/p>\n
Senior Trump administration officials said that the sanctions announced on Tuesday were meant to emphasize to the world that the U.S saw no distinction between the political and military wings of Hezbollah, which is supported by the Iranian regime. They urged Lebanon\u2019s leaders to sever ties with anyone affiliated with Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
\u201cHezbollah threatens the economic stability and security of Lebanon and the wider region, all at a cost to the Lebanese people,\u201d Ms. Mandelker said. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Administration officials said on Tuesday that more sanctions against Iran were in the pipeline.<\/p>\n
In late June, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that sanctions targeting Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian regime\u2019s foreign minister, were forthcoming. While they have yet to be announced, an Administration official described Zarif as a figure of key interest and said that additional sanctions were being explored.<\/p>\n
Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Trump said he was keeping a close eye on the Iranian regime\u2019s enrichment activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, we\u2019re going to see what happens with Iran,\u201d President Trump said. \u201cIran is doing a lot of bad things right now, and they better be very careful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The United States imposed sanctions on three senior Hezbollah officials in Lebanon on Tuesday, accusing them of having a “malign agenda” to support the Iranian regime. The sanctions were the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":53426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[178],"class_list":{"0":"post-26443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-terrorism-a-fundamentalism","8":"tag-save"},"yoast_head":"\n