OFAC Targets Hizballah and Kata’ib Hizballah Networks Under Operation Economic Outcast

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on September 10, 2026 announced a new round of sanctions targeting individuals and entities that it says support Kata’ib Hizballah and Lebanese Hizballah, as part of its broader Operation Economic Outcast campaign against Iranian-linked illicit finance and sanctions evasion.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control said the action covers networks operating across Iraq, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye. The designations were made under Executive Order 13224, as amended, which targets terrorists and their supporters, and in some cases Executive Order 13902, which targets persons operating in specified sectors of the Iranian economy.

Financial and procurement networks targeted

Among those designated were four Kata’ib Hizballah commanders or members, as well as individuals and companies Treasury says supported Iran-aligned militia procurement and financing. Treasury also identified Shams & Bahr Trading Company L.L.C., a Dubai-based exchange business that it said had been used to remit millions of dollars from Iraq to Iran through the UAE.

The release also described a separate Hizballah-linked cash and gold network. Treasury said Iranian oil-sale proceeds were transferred through regional exchange houses and that, between May and September 2025, Hussein Ibrahim and Abdallah Hamieh transferred hundreds of millions of dollars from the IRGC-QF to Hizballah. It also described the use of hawala arrangements, gold purchases in Dubai and physical couriers to move value into Lebanon.

Wider compliance implications

The action reinforces the sanctions-screening and counterparty risks associated with informal value-transfer networks, exchange houses, gold dealers and cross-border procurement businesses. Treasury noted that property and interests in property of designated persons that are in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are blocked, and entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons are also blocked.

Separately, OFAC announced that an individual agreed to pay $1,427,230 to settle potential civil liability for providing management consulting and advisory services to an Iranian software company, receiving Iranian-origin dividends into U.S. bank accounts and acquiring real property in Iran. OFAC also updated its Iran licensing policy to a presumption of denial except where required by law or in limited circumstances.

The September 10 action is a further implementation step under Operation Economic Outcast, which Treasury launched in August 2026 to intensify pressure on Iranian revenue channels, sanctions-evasion structures and financial facilitators. It is distinct from earlier actions under the same campaign and should not be read as a new standalone sanctions regime.

Sources

U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Operation Economic Outcast Strikes Iran’s Global Terrorist Proxy Network,” September 10, 2026.
Official release