WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) – The United States will on Thursday issue fresh sanctions targeting Lebanon’s Hezbollah, including re-designating it under a terrorism authority, according to a statement seen by Reuters, in a move aimed at emphasizing its links to the Iranian government.
While Hezbollah is not being designated under any new authority, the Treasury Department is re-designating it as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist “for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force,” according to the statement.
A U.S. official said that the re-designation was intended to show that Hezbollah is acting on behalf of the Iranian government and update the public record to link the designation to Hezbollah’s actions on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.
Hezbollah was first designated under the authority in 2001 and is also sanctioned by the U.S. as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The United States also designated a group of 10 people on Thursday that it accused of smuggling cash for Hezbollah.
The U.S. official said that the measures to be taken on Thursday were separate to further action the U.S. plans to take against Iran, as Washington looks to resolve a war it began alongside Israel nearly six months ago.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier on Thursday that he would hold a press conference on Monday about “the toughest sanctions in history” that Washington plans to impose on Iran.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Michael Martina; Editing by Michelle Nichols)
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