The U.S. Treasury moved to disrupt the fundraising and operation of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group on Thursday, imposing sanctions on four operatives and a firm that have assisted the organization, long seen as a terrorist outfit by Washington.
In a related action, the U.S. State Department sanctioned Hezbollah commander Haytham ‘Ali Tabataba’i under U.S. counter-terrorism rules. ‘Ali Tabataba’i has commanded Hezbollah special forces, has operated in Syria and has been reported to be in Yemen, the State Department said in a statement.
The sanctions prevent U.S. citizens from doing business with the individuals and organization, Global Cleaners SARL. Saudi Arabia joined the United States in imposing sanctions on some of the people, the Treasury Department said in statement.
The department imposed sanctions on Muhammad al-Mukhtar Kallas, Hasan Jamal-al-Din, Yosef Ayad and Muhammad Ghaleb Hamdar.
It said Kallas and Jamal-al-Din provided financial services for Hezbollah member and financier Adham Tabaja through work for Al-Inmaa Engineering and Contracting LLC. The Treasury said Global Cleaners was owned or controlled by Tabaja and had sanitation contracts in Baghdad.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-hezbollah-idUSKCN12K1WO
