Trump admin hits senior Hezbollah officials, financial facilitators with sanctions

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on Friday against four individuals tied to Hezbollah, as part of its ongoing effort to disrupt the group's global financial network. The move targets two senior officials with Hezbollah, also known as Hizballah, and two financial facilitators accused of coordinating funding for the Lebanon-based terrorist organization.

According to Treasury officials, the sanctioned individuals, based in Lebanon and Iran, play key roles in transferring donations from international sources to Hezbollah leadership. These foreign contributions constitute a major portion of the group’s funding and are used to support operations and affiliated groups worldwide.

“Today’s action underscores Hizballah’s extensive global reach through its network of terrorist donors and supporters, particularly in Tehran,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender. “As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran’s support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities.”

This latest action builds on recent steps taken by OFAC targeting Hezbollah’s financial network, particularly in the wake of the October–November 2024 conflict with Israel. The sanctions are authorized under Executive Order 13224, as amended, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorism. The announcement came following President Donald Trump's successful swing through the Middle East, securing trillions of dollars in deals with Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Mu’in Daqiq Al-‘Amili is a senior Hizballah representative in Qom, Iran, with ties to the group's Foreign Relations Department dating back to at least 2001. OFAC reports that Al-‘Amili has coordinated cash transfers from Iran to Hezbollah officials in Lebanon, including at least $50,000 during the Gaza conflict in late 2023 and early 2024. This funding was reportedly intended for use by Hamas.

Jihad Alami, also sanctioned, is believed to have received and distributed funds within Lebanon on behalf of Hezbollah’s leadership, including those sourced from Al-‘Amili.

Fadi Nehme, an accountant and business associate of Hezbollah’s Central Finance Unit Chief Ibrahim Ali Daher, has also been designated. Nehme holds part ownership in Auditors for Accounting and Auditing, a company previously sanctioned for its links to Hezbollah. The firm is known to provide financial services to the group.

Hasan Abdallah Ni’mah is accused of overseeing financial activity for Hezbollah-aligned groups worldwide, including managing large transactions across Africa. In 2022, he allegedly facilitated the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, an organization aligned with Hezbollah’s agenda.

The sanctions freeze all US-based assets belonging to the individuals and prohibit US persons or entities from conducting transactions with them. Any business or financial entity that is at least 50 percent owned by one or more of the designated individuals is also automatically blocked.

Treasury officials emphasized that violations of these sanctions could result in civil or criminal penalties and warned financial institutions globally of the risk of secondary sanctions if they engage in significant transactions on behalf of the designated individuals.

Additionally, the sanctions may limit exports, reexports, or transfers of items subject to US export control laws, particularly for those listed on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List.

OFAC reiterated that while sanctions are a powerful tool for disrupting terrorism financing, their ultimate goal is behavioral change. The agency maintains the authority to remove individuals or entities from the SDN list should they demonstrate a cessation of sanctioned activities.