US Treasury imposes sanctions on Hezbollah officials

Adam Szubin, the US Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes

The US government continues its crackdown on supporters of the Syrian government, imposing sanctions on three officials of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.

The sanctions were imposed by the US Department of the Treasury on Tuesday.

Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes, said that the United States will continue to “aggressively target” Hezbollah for its “activities worldwide” as well as its ongoing support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military campaign against militants in Syria.

A picture taken on March 4, 2015 shows a Syrian woman walking past a poster bearing a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. (AFP photo)

A Lebanese businessman tied to Hezbollah was also blacklisted. The move freezes their US assets and prevents any US citizen or institution from engaging in transactions with them.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. The United States and some of its regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- have been supporting the militants operating in Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 230,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the turmoil that has gripped Syria for more than four years.

The sanctions come as Syrian army soldiers and Hezbollah fighters have established full control over some strategic areas on the outskirts of the Syrian border town of Zabadani.

Syria’s official SANA news agency reported on Tuesday that the allied forces managed to retake the Sahl Zabadani region, which is located around 45 kilometers north of Damascus.

Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah

Last month, the US Treasury also took action against front companies and individuals suspected of facilitating Hezbollah’s actions. 

Hezbollah was founded in the 1980s following the Israeli invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese resistance movement waged a long resistance campaign against Zionist troops and pushed them out of southern Lebanon in May 2000.

Since then, the movement has grown into a powerful military force and has successfully defeated the Zionist regime several times.  

Members of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah 

Hezbollah has also supported the Syrian army in its fight against the foreign-sponsored militants who have been wreaking havoc in the Arab country since March 2011.  

Since its inception in 1985, the Islamic resistance movement has been a thorn in the flesh of Israel and its foreign backers, such as the United States.


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