US Sanctions Seven Entities, Six Individuals With Ties to Hezbollah - Treasury

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States has added seven entities to a list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and issued sanctions against them for financial ties to Hezbollah, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a press release on Friday.

The entities include Al-Inmaa Engineering and Contracting, Sierra Leone-based Blue Lagoon Group and Kanso Fishing Agency, Ghana-based Star Trade Ghana, Liberia-based Dolphin Trading Company, Sky Trade Company and Golden Fish Liberia.

The Treasury also included six individuals to the sanctions list.

READ MORE: Is Saudi Arabia Preparing for War With Hezbollah?

"OFAC designated Lebanon-based Jihad Muhammad Qansu, Ali Muhammad Qansu, Issam Ahmad Saad, and Nabil Mahmoud Assaf, and Iraq-based Abdul Latif Saad and Muhammad Badr-Al-Din for acting for or on behalf of Hizballah member and financier Adham Tabaja or his company, Al-Inmaa Engineering and Contracting."

The latest sanctions come after in January, Trump called for Washington's allies to recognize the entire Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, as the the Lebanon-based militant group has been listed as a terrorist group in the US since 1997. The European Union distinguishes between Hezbollah's military and political branches, branding the armed wing of the group as a terrorist entity, but allowing contact with the party's political representatives. Hezbollah has representatives in Lebanon's Cabinet, Parliament and other government bodies.

Hezbollah is a Lebanese-based Shiite paramilitary organization and a political party which was created in 1982 as a response to the Israeli occupation of the southern Lebanon. The group derives its ideology from Iran and has the aim of establishing an Islamic state modelled after Iran in Lebanon, which is a secular state distinguished by a great confessional diversity. Iran backs Hezbollah financially providing the group with weapons and training support.

READ MORE: Hezbollah Ready to 'Decisively Confront' Israel Over Offshore Oil, Gas Deposits

In 2000, Hezbollah drove Israel from Lebanon as well as the movement fought Israel during the Lebanese war in 2006. Israel considers Hezbollah to be a terrorist group, with Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus stating in December 2017 that Israel considers the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah movement to be a far greater threat to the country's national security than the Daesh terrorist group. However, Hezbollah fighters have been assisting the Syrian government of Bashar Assad in its struggle against terrorist groups, including Daesh.