US targets financial networks supporting Iranian-backed militant groups

The United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanctions targeting networks it said were providing material support to Kata'ib Hezbollah and Hezbollah, two militant organisations with close ties to Iran.

The designations include multiple entities and individuals operating across four countries in the region, with Washington alleging they played key roles in funneling resources to the armed groups. The action represents the latest effort by the US to disrupt financial channels that it says sustain Iranian proxy forces across the Middle East.

Kata'ib Hezbollah, a hardline faction within Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces, and Lebanon-based Hezbollah have been designated as terrorist organisations by the United States. Both groups maintain significant military capabilities and political influence in their respective countries, and are widely acknowledged as receiving substantial backing from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The sanctions freeze any US-held assets of the targeted entities and generally prohibit American persons and businesses from engaging in transactions with them. The Treasury said the measures were aimed at degrading the operational capacity of these networks and undermining their ability to provide support to militant operations across the region.