The US is imposing sanctions on individuals and entities for doing business with Hezbollah and Iran as the Middle East risks a full-scale war.
The timing of the announcement of the sanctions is no coincidence, as it comes shortly after Israel threatened to plan a ground invasion of Lebanon.
“The United States sanctions one individual and four entities and designates nine vessels as frozen assets for their involvement in facilitating illicit trade to Syria and East Asia in support of Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps US State Department spokesman Matt Miller announced.
“We will continue to expose the efforts of these actors to exploit the international financial system to finance Iran’s partners and proxies,” Miller said.
“Iran continues to rely heavily on the illicit sale of oil and petroleum liquids by the IRGC-QF and the Lebanese Hezbollah to fund its terrorist proxies and destabilizing activities,” the Treasury’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial information Bradley T. Smith.
The finance ministry is “committed to disrupting the networks of charterers, brokers and buyers that facilitate these circuits”.
Diplomatic pressure on Hezbollah
According to international media, the US is launching a new diplomatic effort to establish a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which is mainly aimed at pressuring Hezbollah to agree to a truce without an agreement on Gaza.
Joe Biden in an interview said that a total war in the Middle East is possible but there is room to avoid it.
In a new video message, Benjamin Netanyahu said he will not stop unless displaced northern Israelis return to their territories, with Israeli media reporting that the new remarks came after rumors that the prime minister had given the “green light” for a diplomatic exit.
Netanyahu’s latest message – in which he made no mention of the new US diplomatic initiative – made it clear that he is not going to back down on the Lebanon front.
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