The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against 10 individuals on Thursday. The sanctioned individuals are accused of forming a courier network that smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah.

The network transported cash onboard commercial flights between Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon. The Office of Foreign Assets Control stated the network allowed Hezbollah to obtain foreign currency and evade sanctions outside the formal banking system.

Yunus Alper Yilmaz, a Turkish businessman, is accused of running the courier operation. Yilmaz is accused of using Turkish-based currency exchange houses as fronts, along with shell companies and bank accounts tied to the IRGC-QF.

Halil Ibrahim Kacmaz and Onder Dede were designated for collecting cash from exchange houses on behalf of Yunus Alper Yilmaz. Vasfi Akyuz was designated as a logistics coordinator who also worked as a courier.

Mehmet Akyuz, Mehmet Acur, Feyyad Karasalih, Masoud Mousafar, Gulay Kaya Savci, and Emrah Ayaz are accused of physically carrying cash to Lebanon on commercial flights. Under the sanctions, any assets the 10 individuals hold in the US or under the control of US persons are frozen.

Americans are generally barred from doing business with the 10 sanctioned individuals. The Treasury Department linked the operation to a scheme previously associated with Behnam Shahriyari, a deceased finance official for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.

"The network uses couriers traveling on commercial airline flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE and Iran to move hundreds of millions of dollars, enabling the regime to obtain foreign currency illicitly, evade sanctions and fund Hezbollah." Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesperson, said. Pigott stated the investigation leading to the sanctions was carried out in coordination with Turkish authorities.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control re-designated Hezbollah as a 'specially designated global terrorist'. The re-designation cites the IRGC Quds Force’s coordination of Hezbollah attacks and its involvement in shaping the group’s political decisions.

Why It Matters

The sanctions target a financial infrastructure that operates outside the formal banking system, allowing Hezbollah to access foreign currency despite international restrictions. By designating the network operators and re-designating the group itself, the US government aims to disrupt the flow of funds that supports Hezbollah's military and political activities.

The re-designation clarifies the organizational link between Hezbollah and the Iranian state, specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force. This distinction shows the US position that Hezbollah acts as a proxy for Iranian interests rather than as an independent entity, a characterization that informs both diplomatic policy and enforcement actions.

Timeline

Iran's Revolutionary Guards founded Hezbollah in 1982. Hezbollah was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997.

Hezbollah was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2001. On May 16, 2022, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control began amending the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to further implement elements of the policy announced by the Administration.

What's New

A State Department official said the new re-designation specifies that Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, not a stand-alone operation as implied by the previous designation. The Treasury Department stated the re-designation is for Hezbollah's service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed Shia Islamist political party and terrorist organization in Lebanon.

Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel as it launched its war against Iran alongside the US in March. Hezbollah stated on Friday that new US sanctions would not deter its resistance against Israel.