US sanctions Iran’s Quds force Hezbollah

DUBAI: The US has designated a network operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force as the “International Oil Smuggling and Money Laundering Network”.
A US Treasury Department report on Wednesday said officials had facilitated the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian oil to both the IRGC-QF and Hezbollah.
It served as an important element of Iran’s oil revenue generation, and supported pseudo-extremist groups that “perpetuate conflict and suffering across the region.”
Brian Nelson, the Under-Secretary of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said the US would continue to strictly enforce sanctions on Iran’s illegal oil trade.
He added that similar sanctions could apply to anyone buying oil from Iran.
Ruwan al-Rezoleh, a MENA expert and adviser based in Washington, called the sanctions a “significant step”.
“Aided by Hezbollah, this oil network has been allowed to operate independently for a very long time. This is an important step, but the administration must continue to marginalize Hezbollah and its allies,” she said. “Hezbollah, which controls the Lebanese Ministry of Energy, recently took advantage of Lebanon’s energy problems to gain preferential access to the Lebanese market for its masters in Tehran.”
She said Sonatrach, a state-owned Algerian company, was responsible for sending fuel oil to Lebanon and that its exit exacerbated the “already crippling” energy problems of the country.
He said that Mount Lebanon’s state prosecutor Ghada Aun launched a politically motivated proceedings against Sonatrach, which led to the Algerians leaving.
“Hezbollah used this chaos to secure Iran’s access to Beirut’s energy market.”