The US and Saudi Arabia Sanction Five Individuals and Entities Supporting Hezbollah

On Thursday, October 21, the US Treasury Department placed five individuals and entities financially supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon on its sanctions list. Saudi Arabia has also taken similar action. According to Reuters, the Treasury Department announced the names of the sanctioned individuals as Mohammad Mokhtar Fallah Klas, Hassan Hatim Jamal al-Din, Youssef Ayad, and Mohammad Ghaleb Hamdar, with the sanctioned organization being 'Global Cleaner.' The department stated that Klas and Jamal al-Din provided financial services to Adham Tabaya, the owner or manager of 'Global Cleaner,' which was a contractor for sewage system contracts in Baghdad. Ayad and Hamdar were included in the list for their support of Hezbollah's programs and its terrorist actions. Both were members of Hezbollah's external security organization. Hamdar was arrested in October 2014 on suspicion of planning Hezbollah attacks in Peru, in the capital Lima. The US Treasury also placed Haitham Ali Tabatabai on its terrorism list. Tabatabai has been a commander of Hezbollah's special forces in Syria, supporting the forces of Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria. Reports indicate that he has also been active in Yemen. These sanctions prohibit any transactions by American citizens with the sanctioned individuals and organizations. The Treasury Department stated that Saudi Arabia has also placed Youssef Ayad and Mohammad Ghaleb Hamdar on its sanctions list. Hezbollah enjoys strong support from Lebanese Shiites and has significant influence in the political structure of the country. The military wing of this group plays an important role in supporting Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria. Barack Obama and John Kerry, the President and Secretary of State of the United States, have stated that they have issues with Iran's policy of supporting proxy groups like Hezbollah. Critics of the Obama administration believe that the US has not taken sufficient action to counter Tehran's activities and its supported groups in the Middle East, especially after the nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers in July 2015. In this context, the Central Bank of Lebanon has blocked '100 bank accounts' of Hezbollah. One of the banks implementing the sanctions against Hezbollah was targeted in an attack. The leader of Hezbollah stated: 'As long as Iran has money, we also have money.' Commanders of Hezbollah who were killed in Syria, Hassan Nasrallah stated: 'There is no prospect of a political solution for Syria.' The former Prime Minister of Lebanon stated: 'Iran and Hezbollah are responsible for the destruction of Syria and are seeking to divide Yemen.' Kerry stated that Iran's policy in Yemen and Syria complicates the post-JCPOA situation. The changing battlefield of 'proxies'; the war against the people in the streets of Iran. The first paragraph; the responsibility of the opposition and the possibility of radicalizing Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis.