Latest news with #Iran-proxy
UPI
2 days ago
- Business
- UPI
U.S. sanctions 7 senior leaders at Hezbollah-linked Al-Qard Al-Hasan
Debris lies at the site of a damaged branch of Al-Qard al-Hasan, a financial institution linked to Lebanon's Hezbollah in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Sunday that hit several branches of the institution, in Beirut suburbs, Lebanon, on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. File Photo by Fadel Itani/ UPI | License Photo July 4 (UPI) -- The United States has sanctioned seven senior officials and one firm linked to Al-Qard Al-Hasan, a U.S.-designated, Hezbollah-controlled financial institution that came under attack last fall during Israel's war against the Iran-proxy militia in Lebanon. Thursday's sanctions are the latest in a series by the U.S. Treasury targeting Hezbollah and follow U.S. actions against various revenue-generating operations of the militia during Israel's war against Hamas, another Iran-backed group, in Gaza, which began in October 2023. Al-Qard Al-Hasan was blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury in July 2007, and its group of so-called shadow bankers in Lebanon was sanctioned in 2021. On Thursday, the Treasury sanctioned Nehme Ahmad Jamil, 54, and his Tashilat SARL company he co-owns with Ahmad Mohamad Yazbeck, who was among the shadow bankers designated nearly five years ago. Other senior officers at Al-Qard Al-Hasan sanctioned Thursday include Issa Hussein Kassir, 47, Samer Hasan Fawaz, 50, Imad Mohamad Bezz, 47, Ali Mohamad Karnib, 38, Ali Ahmad Krisht, 47, and Mohammed Suleiman Badir, 49. According to the U.S. Treasury, these designations aim to disrupt Hezbollah's sanctions-evasion schemes and help the Lebanese government curb the group's influence. "Through their roles at AQAH, these officials sought to obfuscate Hezbollah's interest in seemingly legitimate transactions at Lebanese financial institutions, exposing these banks to significant AML/CFT risk while allowing Hezbollah to funnel money for its own benefit," Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender said in a statement. "As Hezbollah seeks money to rebuild its operations, Treasury remains strongly committed to dismantling the group's financial infrastructure and limiting its ability to reconstitute itself." Hezbollah became involved in the Israel-Gaza war a day after it began, launching rockets into northern Israel. In October, with much of Gaza destroyed and tens of thousands of Palestinians killed, Israel intensified its attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, launching ground and artillery operations, seeking to eradicate the militant group in order to prevent it from further attacking Israel. Among its targets was Al-Qard Al-Hasan, with dozens of its branches destroyed in Beirut's southern suburbs and southern and eastern Lebanon.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Paraguay hits Iran's IRGC with terrorist designation; expands designations for Hamas, Hezbollah
April 25 (UPI) -- Paraguay has designated Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and expanded its previous designations of Hamas and Hezbollah to include both their military and political arms. President Santiago Pena announced the designations in a statement Thursday, describing the move as a reaffirmation of Asuncion's commitment to the global fight against terrorism while strengthening its strategic allegiances with the United States and Israel. "Identifying entities that promote and carry out terrorist acts represents a decisive step for the international community to act in a coordinated manner in their permanent dismantling," he said. "With these decisions, Paraguay reaffirms its unwavering commitment to peace, international security and the strict respect for human rights, consolidating its position within the international community as a country firmly opposed to all forms of terrorism and strengthening its ties with allied nations in this fight." He said the reason for blacklisting the IRGC was its systemic involvement in human rights violations and participation in terrorist activities. Paraguay had previously designated the military wings of Iran-proxy militias Hezbollah of Lebanon and Hamas of Gaza, but extended the designation to their political and social arms on Thursday over their public statements that "fail to distinguish between their armed political or social components," the president said. The IRGC is a military institution that runs parallel to Iran's army and plays a significant role in the country's internal and regime security, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service. Hamas and Hezbollah are Shiite Muslim militant organizations that receive support from the IRGC. All three have been widely designated as terrorist organizations, including by the United States, which celebrated Paraguay's designations on Thursday. "The important steps Paraguay has taken will help cut off the ability of the Iranian regime and its proxies to plot terrorist attacks and raise money for its malign and destabilizing activity, including in the Tri-Border area Paraguay shares with Argentina and Brazil," Tammy Bruce, a U.S. State Department spokesperson, said in a statement. Israel, which has been in a proxy conflict with Iran for years and is fighting a war against Hamas, similarly cheered Paraguay for the moves. "Iran is the world's leading exporter of terrorism and extremism, and together with its terror proxies, it threatens regional stability and global peace. More countries should follow suit and join the fight against Iranian aggression and terrorism," Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar of Israel said on X. The announcement comes as the United States is trying to get Iran to accept a new deal aimed at preventing it from securing a nuclear weapon. U.S. President Donald Trump has been seeking such a deal since his first term when he imposed sanctions on Iran and withdrew the United States from a landmark Obama-era multinational nuclear accord with the same goal. Since then, Iran's nuclear program has greatly advanced and according to a Congressional Research Service report from last month, it needs as little as a week to produce enough weapons-grad highly enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb. Bruce told reporters on Thursday that talks with Iran were ongoing, with the next round of negotiations set to take place in Oman on Saturday. "We've made good progress, and we have a long way to go," she said.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. airstrikes targeting western Yemen oil port kill dozens
April 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. military attacked an oil port in western Yemen, killing dozens of people as the Trump administration continues to intensify its strikes against the Houthi rebels. Houthi-aligned news organization Al-Masirah reported Friday that 38 people were killed and another 100 were injured in the U.S. airstrikes, making it one of the deadliest U.S. attacks in Yemen amid the Trump administration's campaign against the Houthis that began in mid-March. The U.S. attack consisted of at least 14 airstrikes on the Ras Isa Fuel Port, Al-Masirah reported, citing unnamed local sources. Israel later Friday morning said a missile launched toward it from Yemen had been intercepted. U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it conducted airstrikes targeting the Ras Isa Fuel Port on accusations that it was under the control of the Houthi rebels and was supporting the Iran-proxy militia's military operations. "Today, U.S. forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years," CENTCOM said in a statement. "This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully." Since Wednesday, the United States has conducted at least 30 airstrikes targeting Houthi infrastructure and leadership in Yemen, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The United States has launched repeated strikes against the Houthis in Yemen since March 15 when CENTCOM announced it had initiated an operation against the designated terrorist organization "in order to restore freedom of navigation." Since November 2023, the Houthis have enforced a maritime blockade of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, attacking vessels, including U.S. military ships, transiting the important trade route. The Iran-proxy militia states the blockade is in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza, more than 51,000 of whom have been killed amid Israel's war against Hamas, another Iran-backed group, which began on Oct. 7, 2023. In defense attack on the port, CENTCOM said the Houthis use fuel to sustain their military operations by leveraging it as a weapon of control and a source of income derived through embezzling profits from imports. "This fuel should be legitimately supplied to the people of Yemen," CENTCOM said. On Thursday, the United States sanctioned the International Bank of Yemen and three of its executives, accusing them of permitting the blacklisted Houthis access to the international banking system via its SWIFT, or Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, network. Yemen has been submerged in civil war since 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital of Sana'a. Since then, the Houthis have been fighting the internationally recognized government of Yemen and the Saudi-led coalition forces.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. sanctions Internationl Bank of Yemen over support for Houthis
April 18 (UPI) -- The United States is sanctioning the International Bank of Yemen over its support of the Houthi Rebels, according to the Trump administration, which also accused a Chinese satellite company of aiding the designated terrorist organization with its maritime blockade. The sanctions against the bank and three of its executives were announced by the U.S. Treasury and State Department on Thursday on accusations of financially supporting the Houthi rebels. Treasury officials accuse the bank of being controlled by the heavily sanctioned Iran-proxy militia and of providing it access to its Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications network, better known as SWIFT, to make international financial transactions. The bank's chair of the board of directors, Kamal Hussain Al Jebry, 61; its executive general manager, Ahmed Thabit Noman Al-Absi, 69; and its deputy general manager, Abdulkader Ali Bazara, 72, were also sanctioned. "Financial institutions like IBY are critical to the Houthis' efforts to access the international financial system and threaten both the region and international commerce," Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said in a statement. "Treasury remains committed to working with the internationally recognized government of Yemen to disrupt the Houthis' ability to secure funds and procure key components for their destabilizing attacks." Since November 2023, the Houthis have enforced a maritime blockade of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, attacking vessels, including U.S. military ships, that transit the important trade route. They state the blockade is in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza, of whom more than 51,000 have been killed amid Israel's war against Hamas, another Iran-proxy militia, which began on Oct. 7, 2023. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters during a press conference Thursday that Chang Guang Satellite Technology has been supporting the Houthis' attacks on "U.S. interests." "Their actions, and Beijing's support of the company, even after our private engagements with them, is yet another example of China's empty claims to support peace," she said. "We urge our partners to judge the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies on their actions, not their empty words." She added that the Trump administration will not "tolerate anyone providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Houthis." UPI has asked Chang Guang Satellite Technology for comment.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump reinstates 'maximum pressure' campaign on Iran
Feb. 4 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a memorandum to restore the so-called maximum pressure campaign on Iran from his first administration, which failed to achieve its goal of bringing about a new deal with Tehran to prevent it from securing a nuclear weapon. Instead, the Middle Eastern country has escalated its nuclear weapons program. Trump signed the National Security Presidential Memorandum at the White House prior to his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The memorandum states that the campaign consists of the departments of Treasury and State applying sanctions on Iran, the Department of Justice investigating financial and logistical networks tied to Iran and Iran-proxy groups and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations seeking to reinstate international sanctions and restrictions on Iran. Trump had launched this maximum pressure campaign on Iran in 2018 after he imposed sanctions on Iran and withdrew the United States from a landmark President Barack Obama-era multinational nuclear accord aimed at preventing Tehran from gaining an atomic bomb. Calling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action "defective at its core," Trump sought to use sanctions to force Iran back to the negotiating table to secure a deal he felt was better, but that never materialized. European partners attempted to maintain the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, not agreeing with Trump's unilateral move. Iran repeatedly violated its commitments under the deal before ceasing its implementation altogether in early 2021. Amid the growing tensions between the two countries, the administration of President Joe Biden attempted to restart the JCPOA negotiations with Iran, but any remaining prospects effectively ended after Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel in October of 2023. According to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, last year, Iranian officials, in an unprecedented move, opened its nuclear weapons program. The JCPOA will not expire until October. The Institute for the Study of War said within hours of Trump signing the memorandum that "Iran is conducting nuclear research that would enable it to build a nuclear weapon in a period of months," though the organization "does not assess that Iran has decided to build" such a weapon at this time. Many analysts -- as well as the Biden administration -- maintain the maximum pressure plan failed and had the adverse effect intended. It also saw Tehran forge closer relations with Russia, whom it has been accused of aiding in its war against Ukraine, and North Korea. Prior to signing the memorandum on Tuesday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he was reluctant to do so, stating it's "very tough on Iran." "I'm going to sign it, but hopefully we're not going to have to use it very much. We will see whether or not we can arrange, we'll work out a deal with Iran and everybody can live together and maybe that's possible and maybe it's not possible, so I'm I'm signing this and I'm unhappy to do it, but I really have not so much choice," he said. Asked what kind of deal he is seeking from Iran, he replied with the long-held U.S. stance that Iran will be prevented from securing nuclear weapons. "We don't want to be tough on Iran -- we don't want to be tough on anybody -- but they just can't have a nuclear weapon," he said. Despite the criticism of his maximum pressure campaign from his first administration, there are supporters among his Republican Party and anti-Tehran regime activists. "The president is telegraphing to Tehran that while it has been trying to lure him into immediate negotiations, the president is rightfully starting to build out a pressure architecture that will leave a line open for coercive diplomacy," Jason Brodsky, policy director at the non government United Against Nuclear Iran policy organization, said on X. "This will come as a cold shower for the Islamic Republic's foreign minister and others who have been clinging to the false hope that the president is not the same president of his first term on Iran policy."
