The US government announced new sanctions yesterday against firms and individuals that it says are aiding Hizbollah and other Iranian proxies in the Middle East as it intensified its campaign to isolate Iran economically.
The latest sanctions are part of the Treasury Department’s ‘Operation Economic Outcast’, announced August 24, which aims to cut off Tehran’s funding for the war, missile construction, cyberattacks and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.
Yesterday’s actions by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control hit entities and individuals in Iraq, the UAE, Lebanon and Türkiye that Washington said supported Kata’ib Hizbollah.
Treasury also announced a settlement with a US citizen who agreed to pay $1.43 million to settle their potential civil liability for 39 apparent violations of sanctions on Iran, and issued a broad whistleblower appeal for tips on any sanctions evasion or money laundering by Iran.
OFAC issued a bulletin making clear that it would deny most Iran-related licensing requests, except in exceptional circumstances, and said its licensing division had immediately begun denying ‘the vast majority’ of outstanding Iran-related specific license requests.
“OFAC will maintain this licensing policy until Iran changes its behavior, including obstructing the Strait of Hormuz, attacking US personnel and partners in the Gulf, and pursuing nuclear and conventional weapons,” Treasury said.
“Operation Economic Outcast is targeting those who continue to stand with the failing Iranian regime,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
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