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U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks with reporters in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on the 28th (local time). / AP, Yonhap

The U.S. government has designated individuals associated with money-courier operations for Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian militant group in Lebanon, as targets of sanctions, while also redesignating Hezbollah as a proxy terrorist organization of Iran, Fox News reported on August 20 (local time).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on this day that it added 10 individuals involved in a cash-courier network that facilitated Hezbollah's fundraising and sanctions evasion to its sanctions list.

These individuals are suspected of evading U.S. sanctions by transporting hundreds of millions of dollars across Türkiye, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Iran using commercial flights.

The Treasury Department claimed, "This network provided Hezbollah with a conduit to procure foreign currency outside the formal financial system and evade U.S. sanctions," adding that it was also "linked to Behnam Shahriyari, who previously operated as a financial official for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) before his death."

Those sanctioned include Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz, who managed the cash-courier network, as well as nine couriers and logistics operatives.

Yilmaz is known to have utilized currency exchange offices based in Türkiye for sham transactions and provided front companies and bank accounts to transfer funds tied to the Qods Force.

The Treasury Department redesignated Hezbollah as a sanctions target, stating that it operates on behalf of the Iranian regime under the command of the Qods Force.

Fox News explained that this measure is viewed as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to cut off Hezbollah's access to foreign currency and sever financial support to Hezbollah from Iran.

The previous day, President Trump warned on his social media platform Truth Social: "I am announcing the most devastating economic operation in history ever implemented against any nation. It will be an economic war and isolation measure of unprecedented scale," adding, "Any country that allows Iran access to its financial institutions, companies, airports, or government agencies will also pay a tremendous price."

                                                                                                           Park Jin-sook