US redesignates Hezbollah as terror group in 'service to Iranian regime'

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group that has controlled southern Lebanon for decades, “operates with little to no regard for Lebanese sovereignty, the Lebanese people or the Lebanese state,” a U.S. State Department official said on Thursday, as the Trump administration again sanctioned Hezbollah “for service to the Iranian regime.”

“The United States will not relent in targeting Iran’s financial support networks, including those enabling Hezbollah to threaten peace, undermine the sovereignty of the Lebanese state and endanger the security of our regional allies,” wrote Tommy Pigott, spokesman for the State Department.

Sponsored Logitech MX Master 3S Review: The Ultimate Productivity Mouse for 2026 See the review →

The official said that Hezbollah, which has long been sanctioned as a foreign terrorist organization, is being re-designated “an Iranian proxy, not a stand-alone operation as implied by the previous designation.”

The action on Thursday “builds on years of U.S. designations that have repeatedly documented the operational, financial and logistical integration” between Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, which is Iran’s elite military wing specializing in unconventional warfare, foreign intelligence and management of Iran’s network of terrorist proxies throughout the Middle East.

Thursday’s determination “formally recognizes” Hezbollah’s activities “as an extension of the IRGC-QF” and “not a Lebanese resistance movement.”

Jointly, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 10 people, who it said take part in a network that helps move hundreds of millions of dollars of sanctions-evading cash transfers between the Quds Force and Hezbollah, using commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

“The investigation and disruption of this network are the result of close coordination and collaboration with our Turkish partners,” Pigott wrote.

The State Department official said that Hezbollah has “twice dragged Lebanon into devastating wars, subordinating the country’s interests to Tehran’s regional agenda and leaving the Lebanese people to bear the consequences.” He called the terror group “the obstacle to Lebanon’s sovereignty, stability and economic recovery.”

The United States, Israel and Lebanon have developed a trilateral framework to help restore Lebanese sovereignty to the southern part of the country, which Hezbollah has long used to launch attacks on Israel.

As part of that pact, Israel and Lebanon are coordinating on so-called “pilot zones,” and Hezbollah, either voluntarily or by force, is to exit designated areas and relocate further north.

At the same time, the Lebanese Armed Forces will take over and Israeli forces will withdraw.

State Department officials have expressed optimism about the trajectory of ongoing talks between Israel and Lebanon to implement the agreement.

Get the latest updates in our WhatsApp group.