Today, the United States is taking action under Operation Economic Outcast targeting Kata'ib Hizballah (KH), Hizballah, and the broader financial networks that sustain Iran's campaign of regional destabilization. These groups serve as Tehran's instruments for projecting violence and subversion across the Middle East and the globe, threatening the security of Iraq, Lebanon, the safety of American personnel and diplomatic facilities in the region, and global energy flows. KH, designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department in 2009, has intensified its threat to U.S. interests, including a recent plot to attack Jewish institutions in the United States, and continues to direct attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq that endanger innocent civilians and undermine Iraqi sovereignty.
The actions announced today expose the extent to which Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) has co-opted Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces and exploited commercial networks in Iraq, the UAE, Türkiye, and Lebanon to fund terrorism and evade international sanctions.
The United States remains committed to supporting a sovereign, stable Iraq free from malign external influence, and to protecting Lebanon's institutions from Hizballah's corrosive financial and political interference. These networks not only threaten regional stability but also undermine the economic interests of the very populations Iran claims to serve.
The United States will continue working closely with partners across the region and around the world to isolate Iran's terrorist proxies and disrupt the financial lifelines that enable their operations.
Today's action is being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, which targets terrorists and their supporters, and E.O. 13902, which targets certain sectors of the Iranian economy. This action advances Operation Economic Outcast-a campaign to completely isolate the regime from the financial lifelines that sustain its malign behavior. Please see the Department of the Treasury's Press Release.
